(WASHINGTON) A spokeswoman warned Tuesday that the Pentagon will continue to help US military personnel perform abortions if they want them, even though a Republican senator blocked hundreds of military appointments over his opposition to the policy.
Due to the ban of Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps are interim commanders, and no other high-ranking positions can be held.
“We will not change our policy that ensures every member of the armed forces has equitable access to reproductive health care,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.
“If you are a member of the military serving in a country that has reduced or restricted access to health care, you are there because that is where you are assigned, not because you chose to go there,” she explained.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court struck down constitutional protections for the right to abortion, allowing states to ban or limit it, which about two dozen countries have done.
In response, the Pentagon gives financial assistance to soldiers who must travel to have an abortion and makes it easier to take administrative leave.
Anti-abortion Republican Tommy Tuberville considers such policies illegal and has vowed to block senior military appointments until the Pentagon reverses them.
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