White House Spokesman: Military Has ‘Foundational Sacred Obligation’ to Provide Troops with Abortion Access

White House spokesman John Kirby argued that providing troops and their family members with access to abortion is a “foundational sacred obligation” for military leaders. Kirby made these remarks during a White House briefing when a reporter asked about the importance of the Biden administration’s policy of paying for troops and their family members to travel out of state for abortions in relation to military readiness.

Kirby responded by stating that because the U.S. military is made up of volunteers, it is a “foundational, sacred obligation” to ensure that they and their family members have paid travel and time off to obtain abortions if they are in states where it is restricted. He said, “When you sign up and you make that contract you have every right to expect that the organization — in this case the military — is going to take care of you and they’re going to take care of your families.”

Kirby added: “And they’re going to make sure that you can serve with dignity and respect no matter who you are, who you love, or how you worship — or don’t. And our policies, whether they’re diversity, inclusion, and equity, or whether they’re about transgender individuals who qualify physically and mentally deserve to be able to do it with dignity, or whether it’s about female servicemembers — one in five — or female family members being able to count on the kinds of health care and reproductive care specifically that they need to serve — that is a foundational sacred obligation of military leaders across the river.”

Kirby argued that providing access to abortion is “just the right darn thing to do for people that raise their hand and agreed to serve in the military.”

Kirby also contended that not allowing troops and their family members access to abortion would have negative implications for recruiting and retention. He claimed that female troops and spouses expressed concerns about the impact of anti-abortion laws passed in some states after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and how it affected their willingness to continue serving.

“If you don’t think there’s going to be a retention and morale issue, think again, because it’s already having that effect,” he stated.

He specifically mentioned Alabama, represented by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who strongly opposes the Pentagon’s policy. Kirby questioned what would happen if someone in the military were assigned to a state like Alabama with restrictive abortion laws and worried about reproductive care. He suggested that some individuals might choose to leave, resulting in a loss of valuable talent from the all-volunteer force.

{Matzav.com}