WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration rescinding the Department of Defense’s (DoD) policy allowing for travel and transportation for service members and military dependents to access reproductive health care not available at military medical facilities. 

“Military service members, and their families, are the heart of our national defense. They fight and sacrifice so that we can retain our freedoms. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that their freedoms are also protected, and that includes access to abortion and reproductive health care and the ability to travel to obtain this health care if it is not available in the community or state in which they are stationed. 

“The decision to remove critically important health care protections for service members and their families will have devastating consequences, including undermining our ability to recruit and retain the people we need to defend our country. It also poses a threat to military readiness and the health and well-being of those who wear the uniform of the United States, as well as their loved ones. 

“I call on President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to immediately reverse this decision for the benefit of those who serve and their families, and for the sake of our national security and defense.”

###