WASHINGTON – The current Supreme Courtroom opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Ladies’s Well being Group doesn’t prohibit the Protection Division from persevering with to supply important ladies’s well being care companies to service members, dependents, different beneficiaries and DOD civilian staff, the undersecretary of protection for personnel and readiness stated in a memo launched June 28.
Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr. famous that beneath present federal legislation, DOD could solely carry out or pay for abortions if the lifetime of the mom can be endangered if the fetus have been carried to time period or if the being pregnant is the results of rape or incest — referred to as “lined abortions.”
The current Supreme Courtroom resolution doesn’t prohibit DOD from persevering with to carry out these lined abortions, according to federal legislation, he wrote.
“There will probably be no interruption to this care,” Cisneros stated.
“Well being care suppliers will proceed to observe present departmental coverage,” he stated, including that army medical remedy amenities will implement measures to make sure continued entry to care.
Cisneros stated it’s the Justice Division’s longstanding place that the states typically could not impose legal or civil legal responsibility on federal staff who’re performing their official duties in a fashion approved by federal legislation.
DOD will work with the Justice Division to make sure entry to counsel for civilian staff and repair members if wanted and as applicable, he wrote.
The Supreme Courtroom’s resolution additionally doesn’t have an effect on DOD’s depart insurance policies, Cisneros stated.
“Current division coverage authorizes active-duty service members to journey as essential to obtain abortion care,” he stated. The journey could also be government-funded, official journey for a lined abortion, or for all different instances, it could be undertaken as common depart on the service member’s expense.
“Entry to emergency or convalescent depart stays unchanged for all service members,” Cisneros famous.
DOD civilian staff could proceed to make use of sick depart or different types of depart as essential to take care of themselves or their members of the family, he stated. Sick depart might also be used to cowl journey which may be wanted to acquire any sort of medical remedy.
DOD, the army departments and the DOD Workplace of Normal Counsel will proceed to evaluation present DOD insurance policies and procedures in gentle of evolving state legal guidelines to evaluate any influence they might have on DOD. Extra steerage will probably be issued as applicable.
“As at all times, we’ll take each motion inside our authority to make sure the security and well being of every member of our group,” Cisneros wrote.
