CV NEWS FEED // The Pentagon has officially revoked a controversial Biden-era policy that used taxpayer funds to cover travel costs for military employees and their family members to seek abortions across state lines, according to a memo released Wednesday.
The change, which complies with President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund elective abortions, took effect Tuesday.
The Biden administration’s 2023 policy used public funds to reimburse military personnel who traveled to states with pro-abortion laws to have abortions. Troops and dependents who traveled for abortions also received paid leave.
The policy faced staunch opposition from many pro-life leaders and organizations, including CatholicVote.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, spent 11 months protesting Biden’s directive, arguing that it violated the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortions.
Tuberville used his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to block Biden’s Pentagon promotions by imposing a blanket hold on senior military advancements. The senator effectively required the Senate to vote on each nomination one at a time, rather than approving them all at once.
Tuberville underwent numerous attacks from Democrats and Biden’s military appointees, who argued that his holds put military readiness and national security at risk.
“For the past two years,” Tuberville stated Friday, “I have been sounding the alarm about the Pentagon’s illegal and immoral practice of using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. I took a lot of heat when I stood alone for nearly a year in holding senior Pentagon promotions over this—but as of today, it was all worth it.”
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth affirmed today what I’ve been fighting for since I got to Washington: zero taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions,” Tuberville continued. “Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership, the Pentagon will once again be focused on lethality, not pushing a political agenda.”
The Pentagon’s new directive on abortion funding aligns with recent Republican legislative efforts as well.
Just last week, a bill to permanently prohibit taxpayer-funded abortions was reintroduced by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, and Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.
CatholicVote reported, “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025 would codify the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding policy that currently requires annual congressional approval to restrict federal funding for abortions.”
Upon announcing the bill, Smith said, “Lives are saved when federal taxpayer dollars are not available to pay for abortion and the demise of unborn babies.”