ICYMI: Ernst Leads Senate GOP Push to End DoD’s Unlawful War on the Unborn
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, led over 30 of her Senate Republican colleagues in an effort to block the Department of Defense’s new unlawful abortion policy.
Biden’s Department of Defense (DoD) announced it would pay for servicemembers’ and their dependents’ travel expenses to receive an abortion. A recent poll showed that a majority of Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, signaling support for the Hyde Amendment.
Click here or the image above to read the Washington Examiner’s article.
The Washington Examiner reported on the bill’s introduction, detailing DoD’s policy that the senators are pushing back on: “Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is leading the efforts on legislation aimed at amending the Department of Defense’s travel statute to prevent funding from being used to pay for service members and their families to travel to obtain an abortion. The legislation, introduced on Wednesday, comes in the wake of President Joe Biden signing an executive order last year permitting the Pentagon to pay for members of the military and their dependents to travel for the procedure following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
Click here or the image above to read Fox News’ full report.
Fox News highlighted the existing law that bans the use of taxpayer dollars from being spent on abortion: “Ernst added that the Hyde Amendment – language Congress has supported for decades that bans the use of federal funds for abortions – should also prohibit the Pentagon’s policy decision. ‘I will continue to ensure the unborn and your tax dollars are protected,’ she said.”
Click here or the image above to view Townhall’s full coverage.
Ernst blasted Biden’s DoD for their decision in a statement to Townhall: “‘The Pentagon should not be mobilized against the unborn. The Department of Defense exists to defend life, not destroy it,’ Ernst said in a statement. According to her website, she is the first female combat veteran elected to the U.S. 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 added.”
Click here or the image above to read Daily Caller’s article.
The Daily Caller detailed how Ernst’s bill responds to DoD’s unlawful policy: “Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is leading a bill to overturn a Department of Defense (DOD) policy from February that funds travel for pregnant troops to other states for the purpose of obtaining an abortion. The bill, titled Modification to Department of Defense Travel Authorities for Abortion-Related Expenses Act of 2023, calls the policy illegal and revokes DoD authorities to pay for travel to states with less restrictive abortion laws. It also says that living in a state that bans abortion does not constitute a ‘hardship’ under the Hyde Amendment and therefore provide a legal justification for receiving an abortion.”
Click here or the image above to view Daily Signal’s coverage.
As reported in the Daily Signal, the DoD’s new policy could cause a spike in abortions in the military: “A study from Rand Corporation estimated the Pentagon’s new policies could increase the annual number of abortions from 20 to 4,100 among U.S. servicewomen. Ernst, who served in the military for over 23 years and fought in Iraq, sounded the alarm on the Pentagon’s policies earlier this month when she joined other Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee to criticize Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision.”
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