The Department of Defense covered the travel costs for 12 out-of-state and non-covered healthcare visits over a six-month period last year.

DoD officials announced in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade that they would cover the travel expenses incurred for servicemembers or their dependents who have to travel out of state for a healthcare procedure not available in their home state, such as abortion. The policy resulted in significant criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill, in particular from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

The policy allows for the military to cover the costs of travel associated with receiving reproductive healthcare that is also not available in their home state.

It was utilized 12 times from June through December 2023, incurring a total cost for the Pentagon of $44,791.20, according to a DoD official, who corrected a previous assessment given by deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh during Tuesday’s briefing. One individual may be responsible for multiple trips, though the department did not disclose that information or what procedures those individuals sought, due to policy concerns.

“Last year, the department announced policies authorizing administrative absences, as well as travel and transportation allowances that would allow service members and their dependents access to non-covered reproductive healthcare,” Singh said. “This type of care includes non-covered abortion and assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization, ovarian stimulations, and egg retrieval.”

It is unclear what medical procedures were sought in these 12 approved travel expense requests, but it is not limited to abortions and could be a range of treatments not covered by DoD’s healthcare, including in vitro fertilization.

The department announced the policy in February 2023, though the details released by Singh on Tuesday are only from the second half of last year.

Tuberville opted to hold up Pentagon confirmations and promotions in protest of the policy, and his protest lasted for nearly a year and led to a significant backlog of hundreds of military members.

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His hold resulted in a brief period during August 2023 when, for the first time ever, three service branches had no Senate-confirmed leader.

Pentagon officials argued both in announcing the policy and in their rebukes of Tuberville’s hold that the policy is their way to ensure every servicemember has access to the same healthcare.