DOD continues rescission of Biden-era protections for abortion care
The Department of Defense (DOD) has issued another memorandum rescinding reproductive health care protections for servicemembers. Under the Biden administration, the Department had implemented three related policies designed to improve access to non-covered reproductive health care, including abortion care and assisted reproductive services, specifically addressing (1) travel reimbursements, (2) administrative absences, and (3) pregnancy notifications.
On January 30, 2025, the DOD rescinded the Biden administration’s policy providing for travel reimbursements for servicemembers and dependents. Now, the administration has also rescinded the policy allowing for administrative absences of up to 21 days for non-covered reproductive health care. As a result, servicemembers will no longer be able to request an administrative absence from their normal duty stations without being charged leave in order to access abortion care. This will directly impact the ability of servicemembers and their families to access this care and will further erode protections for individuals seeking it. Notably, the Trump administration clarified that both the travel reimbursements and administrative absences policies will not apply to assisted reproductive services such as in-vitro fertilization. Although access to this care will not be as restricted, the administration’s actions deprive our servicemembers and their dependents of timely access to the full range of comprehensive reproductive health services.
