<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656098367404,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000165-15c6-d22c-a1ef-97efc26a0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656098367404,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000165-15c6-d22c-a1ef-97efc26a0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_56082225", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1039680"} }); ","_id":"00000181-9727-d66a-a7c3-d72f87510000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe Pentagon is working to “ensure” the Defense Department continues to allow access to abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday shortly after the court’s decision was handed down that “nothing is more important to me or to this department than the health and well-being of our service members, the civilian workforce, and DOD families. I am committed to taking care of our people and ensuring the readiness and resilience of our force.”
SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE, PAVING WAY FOR STATE ABORTION BANS
Austin said department employees would have access to “reproductive healthcare as permitted by federal law.”
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, with Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh in support. Chief Justice John Roberts also voted in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to rule Mississippi can maintain its law banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation.
The court’s decision was not unexpected after a draft opinion was leaked to the media in early May. Then-Pentagon spokesman John Kirby was asked about the department’s thoughts on the leak.
“I’d rather not get into an abortion-centric discussion here today, but I can tell you that the health and well-being of our men and women are paramount concerns of department leadership,” he said. “We certainly want to make sure that whoever they are and wherever they are that they know that we’re serious about that pledge and that we are serious about making sure they have the information, the tools that they need to make the most informed decisions for their own personal health and well-being.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Austin was not the only administration official to speak out on the court’s decision. Attorney General Merrick Garland declared the Justice Department “strongly disagrees” with the ruling, vowing to “use every tool at our disposal to protect” abortion and warning states about potential bans of the “abortion pill.”
