Officials at the Pentagon are sticking by their abortion policy despite U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s military holds.
Tuberville (R-Auburn) continues to place holds on Pentagon general and flag -officer promotions due to the Department of Defense’s decision to pay abortion-related expenses for servicemembers with taxpayer dollars.
Wednesday, the Pentagon said there are no plans to change the policy.
“No we’re not going to change our policy on ensuring that every single servicemember has equitable access to reproductive healthcare,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said. “If you are a servicemember stationed in a state that has rolled back or restricted healthcare access, you are often stationed there because you were assigned there. It’s not that you chose to go there.
“A servicemember in Alabama deserves to have the same access as a servicemember in California as a servicemember stationed in Korea.”
Singh said this policy is not specifically about abortion.
“It’s not an abortion policy,” she said. “The department does not have an abortion policy. We have a healthcare policy and we have a travel policy that allows for servicemembers to take advantage of healthcare that should be accessible to them.”
When asked about how this standoff could end, Singh answered, “I think you should ask Senator Tuberville. We’ve certainly asked him how this ends. The Secretary (of Defense) has had three calls with him this year.”
It also appears that there is no middle ground between the Pentagon and Tuberville as both sides stand firm on their positions.
“So, we’ve been very clear,” she said. “We don’t have anything to negotiate with here. We continue to urge the Senate to confirm our outstanding nominees. These are nominees that have enjoyed bipartisan support in multiple administrations.”
The Pentagon believes it’s up to Tuberville to move forward with the military promotions.
“He really has the power, and I would say his party has the power to end these holds and we would urge them to do that,” she said.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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