Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is leading a majority of the Senate GOP in an effort to end the current “war” on the unborn being waged by President Joe Biden’s Department of Defense (DOD) — which she asserted “exists to defend life, not destroy it.”
Ernst, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is leading 32 Senate Republican colleagues in her push to put a stop to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) abortion policy.
Following the defense agency’s announcement it would pay for servicemembers’ and their dependents’ travel expenses to undergo abortions, Ernst joined the entirety of Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month in a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blasting the DOD’s decision.
“The Pentagon should not be mobilized against the unborn,” said Ernst, a staunch and longtime supporter of life. “The Department of Defense exists to defend life, not destroy it.”
Describing the DOD’s policy as both “unlawful” and “immoral,” she noted that Congress “has been clear” that the longstanding bipartisan Hyde Amendment “protects taxpayers from being forced to fund abortions.”
“I will continue to ensure the unborn and your tax dollars are protected,” she added.
Ernst’s bill calls to “terminate” the DOD memorandum relating to access to abortions, while prohibiting the use of “travel and transportation allowances, medical convalescent leave, and administrative absences to travel to obtain abortions.”
Exceptions include cases in which the mother’s life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or when the pregnancy resulted from an act of rape or incest.
Senators who have joined on the legislation include ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) along with Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), among others.
The Iowa senator’s current push follows Republican Reps. Mike Waltz’ (FL) and Jim Banks’ (IN) demand last month for “transparency” regarding the effects of the Defense Department’s “wokeness.”
The two congressmen cited a poll that found an overwhelming majority of active-duty military personnel had expressed concern over “growing politicization” of the military, with “an overemphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; requirement for the military to pay for abortion related travel; [and] reduction of fitness standards to promote equity.”
Another recent poll revealed that a majority of Americans as a whole oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, signaling support for the Hyde Amendment.
The matter comes as the military continues to face criticism for pushing a “woke” agenda at the expense of focusing on protecting the country.
Following a report revealing a shocking rise in “woke” materials featured within the Department of Defense’s Education Activity (DODEA) schools earlier this month, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) slammed the department over its “stonewalling” in the face of investigations into the “divisive and radical ideology” being taught to servicemembers’ children.
Last month, the U.S. Navy announced it was granting sailors a “one-time reset” of past physical fitness assessment (PFA) failures in hopes of improving retention, while the DOD revealed taxpayer dollars would be used to pay for servicemembers’ abortion travel fees.
In November, Rep. Waltz chaired a think-tank panel to combat wokeness in the military and address its recruiting crisis.
In June, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker released a memo outlining his efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Navy.
The memo was intended to serve as a framework for ongoing DEI efforts in the Navy and directed the Chief Diversity Officer of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) Cathy Kessmeier, to lead a Strategic Planning Team and develop an action plan to promote DEI.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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