Most voters oppose abortion- and LGBTQ-related measures in House defense bill

Republican-led amendments to an annual military spending bill that threaten reproductive and LGBTQ rights are largely unpopular among voters, regardless of their political affiliation, according to new report from Data for Progress, a progressive think tank and polling firm.

House Republicans this month packed several controversial amendments into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that target military diversity programs and access to abortion and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members.

The bill, which authorizes a national defense budget of $886 billion for fiscal 2024, passed this month in a 219-210 vote, with four Democrats supporting it and four Republicans opposing it.

According to Tuesday’s Data for Progress survey, which gathered responses from more than 1,200 U.S. adults between July 19-20, 60 percent of voters agree that bills focused on military spending should not contain measures that in some way target the LGBTQ community, including a majority of Democrats (67 percent), independents (61 percent) and Republicans (51 percent).

Another 63 percent of voters, including an overwhelming majority of Democrats and independents and a plurality of Republicans, believe U.S. service members who are transgender should have access to medically necessary health care, including gender-affirming health care.

One of the amendments passed this month by the House would prevent TRICARE, the health care program for military service members, retirees and dependent family members, from covering the cost of hormones and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender individuals.

“The government has no business funding these procedures on the taxpayer’s dime,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), who introduced the amendment, said on the House floor this month.

Gender-affirming care — which often, but not always, includes puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgery — is considered medically necessary care that can be lifesaving for transgender youths and adults.

The American Medical Association during an annual meeting in June strengthened its commitment to protecting gender-affirming health care by adopting a resolution that formally opposes “any and all” penalties against patients seeking gender-affirming care, as well as their families and providers.

“As political attacks on gender-affirming care escalate, it is the responsibility of the medical community to speak out in support of evidence-based care. Medical decisions should be made by patients, their relatives and health care providers, not politicians,” the Endocrine Society, which introduced the resolution, wrote in a June news release.

According to Tuesday’s survey, most voters also oppose an amendment to the NDAA that would prohibit the military from paying for or reimbursing service members who travel out of state to get an abortion.

A majority of voters — 51 percent — oppose the amendment, which was introduced this month by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), including 34 percent who “strongly oppose” it. But support for the proposal is split largely along partisan lines, according to Tuesday’s survey, and while 63 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independent voters say they do not support the adoption of the amendment, more than half of Republicans say they do.

That’s consistent with findings from other nationally representative surveys, which point to a widening gulf between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to their views on abortion. In a Pew Research Center poll conducted last year, 84 percent of Democrats said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with just 38 percent of Republicans.

Democrats and Republicans are similarly split over their support for Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blockade of more than 250 military promotions since February. Tuberville has blocked the Senate from approving the promotions in protest of a Pentagon policy offering paid leave and travel reimbursement for service members seeking abortions.

More than half of voters — 55 percent — in Tuesday’s survey agree “a single senator should not take military personnel decisions hostage” to protest a government policy that doesn’t align with his personal beliefs. That includes 75 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independent voters.

Just 29 percent of Republicans say Tuberville should end his months-long block on military promotions. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans, meanwhile, say they support Tuberville’s actions, believing “the Biden Administration has gone too far in its efforts to impose abortion policies across all branches of our government, including the U.S. military.”

Roughly a third of voters overall, according to Tuesday’s survey, say they support Tuberville’s hold on military promotions.