The Department of Defense (DoD) is facing legal action from the Heritage Foundation, as the conservative think tank has initiated a lawsuit in order to obtain information concerning the allocation of funds by the Pentagon towards abortion services. The Heritage Foundation’s objective is to gain access to records that provide details on the quantity of abortions financed by the DoD.
This lawsuit is part of the organization’s endeavor to ensure governmental responsibility and expose what it perceives as an endeavor to circumvent the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment is a regulation that prohibits the utilization of federal funds for abortions. Roman Jankowski, who serves as the senior investigative counsel for the Oversight Project at Heritage, has expressed apprehensions regarding the Biden administration’s stance on abortion and has emphasized their intention to procure evidence in support of their assertions.
In July 2022, the Heritage Foundation had previously submitted requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the Pentagon and the Defense Health Agency. These requests specifically sought relevant correspondences and documents pertaining to funded abortions during certain time periods. However, the organization contends that the information they requested was not provided, leading them to initiate the lawsuit.
Sarah Parshall Perry, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, has underscored that existing federal law prohibits the utilization of Department of Defense funds to perform abortions, except in circumstances where the life of the mother is at risk or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. Perry has expressed concerns regarding the DoD’s failure to address their FOIA requests, suggesting a potential breach of this prohibition.
The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with the aim of shedding light on the matter and holding the Pentagon accountable for its alleged use of taxpayer funds to support abortions.
