First draft of House Democrats’ defense funding bill prevents Pentagon from denying leave for abortions

The Department of Defense would be barred from denying active duty service members and civilian employees leave to obtain an abortion under House Democrats’ proposed annual defense appropriations bill.

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday unveiled its opening bid for defense funding, proposing a $761 billion top line with resources for Ukraine, countering China and confronting climate change.

The bill also “prohibits funds for denying leave to service members or civilians requesting leave to obtain an abortion,” according to a summary.

The change comes as the nation braces for the potential rolling back of abortion rights as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to abortion.

The military is already limited in its ability to provide abortions under the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding from being used for most abortions. Tricare, the military’s health care program, only covers abortions if a pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or if the pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk.

The Pentagon hasn’t spoken at length about how rolling back abortion rights would impact its recruitment of women, who are already less likely to enter the military. Advocates and lawmakers have been pushing the Pentagon to shield service members’ access to abortions, mainly by protecting leave for seeking the procedure.

The Army and Air Force currently have policies aimed at cutting down the approval process for service women seeking abortion.  

Under the text of the bill, the Pentagon would not be allowed to deny leave to pregnant service members and civilian employees requesting leave to obtain an abortion.

It would also be prohibited from denying leave to a service member or civilian employee who is the “spouse, partner, or significant other of a pregnant individual” and requests leave to assist their partner in obtaining an abortion.