Jackson Amendment Would Prevent Taxpayer Funds From Being Used to Pay for Abortion Travel
WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 in a vote of 219 to 210.
On Thursday, an amendment offered by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) to prohibit the Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to elective abortion passed in a vote of 221 to 213.
“We praise House GOP leadership for their work in preventing taxpayer funds from illegally being used to pay for or reimburse expenses related to abortion travel,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The Biden Administration has shown repeatedly that it thinks taxpayers are a never-ending source of funds for its abortion agenda.”
Continued Tobias, “The Jackson Amendment in the NDAA prevents the Biden Administration from circumventing established law.”
Federal law (10 U.S.C. § 1093) has long prevented the Department of Defense (DOD) from using funds to perform elective abortions and prevented the DOD from using its facilities to provide abortions. On October 20, 2022, the Biden Administration’s DOD published a memorandum directing the DOD to pay the travel and transportation costs for military members and dependents who travel to obtain elective abortions.
The federal prohibition against DOD funding of elective abortion clearly extends to funding for any item related to abortion, such as travel and transportation, which has been the case for the entire life of the funding prohibition.
The Jackson Amendment:
- Clarifies and explains federal law (10 U.S.C. § 1093) that prevents DOD funding from being used to perform elective abortions and prohibits DOD facilities from being used to provide abortions.
- Repeals the October 20, 2022 memorandum.
- Amends federal law to clarify that the DOD may not pay for the licensure of healthcare professionals in a state if the purpose is to provide abortions.