Last year, Biden’s Department of Defense (DoD) announcedit would pay for servicemembers’ and their dependents’ travel expenses to receive an abortion. Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and combat veteran, is leading 35 of her Senate Republican colleagues to stop the DoD’s abortion policy. Earlier this month, Ernst joined the entirety of Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee in a letter to Defense Secretary Austin blasting the DoD’s recent decision.
“The Pentagon should not be mobilized against the unborn. The Department of Defense exists to defend life, not destroy it,” said Ernst, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate. “Biden DoD’s policy is not just unlawful, it’s immoral. Congress has been clear; the Hyde Amendment protects taxpayers from being forced to fund abortions. I will continue to ensure the unborn and your tax dollars are protected.”
Ernst is joined on the legislation by Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
A recent poll showed that a majority of Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, signaling support for the Hyde Amendment. You can read full bill text here.
