{"id":25660,"date":"2023-06-23T17:21:53","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T17:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/06\/23\/white-house-failed-to-protect-fed-access-to-abortion-group-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:06:22","slug":"white-house-failed-to-protect-fed-access-to-abortion-group-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/fedlife\/benefits\/2023\/06\/23\/white-house-failed-to-protect-fed-access-to-abortion-group-says\/","title":{"rendered":"White House failed to protect fed access to abortion, group says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An advocacy group representing 1,300 employees at the U.S. Department of Justice said the Biden administration has failed to protect abortion rights for members of the civil service who may seek it through government-sponsored health plans, according to a letter obtained by Federal Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group, DOJ Gender Equality Network, has urged multiple changes since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, including covering travel expenses for employees seeking abortion care, as the Pentagon has moved to do,<\/a> and ensuring background checks do not penalize those who have undergone the procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOJ GEN penned the letter on Thursday to the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget and the President and vice president\u2019s offices, saying these recommendations have been met with silence. This comes as the Biden administration issued an executive order on Friday<\/a> requiring federal employees, veterans and service members have affordable access to contraception as part of a broader commitment to preserving reproductive health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDOJ GEN is frustrated that the Administration has failed to protect federal civilian employees\u2019 access to abortion since Roe v. Wade <\/i>was overturned,\u201d said Jen Swedish, DOJ GEN board member and a leader of its Abortion Access Working Group, in a statement. \u201cOver the past year, many private companies and the Department of Defense have stepped up to help their employees weather this healthcare crisis, but federal civil servants have been left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a broader push by employees and health groups to expand care for reproductive health care issues \u2014 not just abortion. For years, infertility benefits have been limited<\/a> under the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, and employees have said that has pushed them to consider employment elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\t