The Pentagon abortion policy at the center of a bitter political fight that has jammed up hundreds of military promotions is likely to cost less than $1 million annually, according to a recent analysis published in a medical journal.
The low estimated cost relative to the Pentagon’s more than $800 billion budget is unlikely to shift the political debate since opponents of Pentagon policy argue that not a single taxpayer dollar should go toward abortion-related expenses. But the analysis comes as the Senate has been scrambling to find a way to end the blockade Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has maintained on senior officer promotions for nearly nine months.
The Pentagon policy at issue covers travel and leave for service members seeking abortions. It was put in place after last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization allowed states to ban the procedure, prompting concerns about access to reproductive health care for female service members who cannot choose where they are stationed.
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In a letter published Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a trio of public health experts found the amount of time service members will have to drive to get an abortion has ballooned following the Dobbs decision. In states that have banned the procedure, military personnel’s median…
