Congressman Crow Joins Rep. Sherrill to Fight for Reproductive Freedom for Servicewomen and Military Families
Crow: “A servicemember’s choice to have an abortion should remain between her and her doctor – not politicians.”
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), Army veteran and member of the Pro-Choice Caucus, joined Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) to introduce the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act to protect servicemembers’ and military family members’ access to reproductive health care, regardless of the state they are stationed. This follows Congressman Crow’s successful efforts that led to the Department of Defense’s (DoD) continued action to protect access to abortion care for servicemembers and their families.
Nearly 50% of servicemembers are stationed in a state with extremely limited or no access to abortion. This legislation would codify portions of current DOD policy, which guarantees military leave and travel cost reimbursements for servicemembers forced to travel out of state to receive reproductive health care.
The Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act is also co-led by Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) and Veronica Escobar (TX-16). The legislation has earned the support of the House Pro Choice Caucus, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America), National Women’s Law Center, Center for Reproductive Rights, Service Women’s Action Network, American Association of OB-GYNs, National Women’s Health Network, Power to Decide, National Partnership for Women and Families, and Minority Veterans of America.
“A servicemember’s choice to have an abortion should remain between her and her doctor – not politicians,” said Congressman Crow. “Unfortunately, following a misguided Supreme Court decision, we were forced to start asking servicewomen to not only give their life in defense of our nation but to do so in a way that sets aside their fundamental rights and freedoms. This was plain wrong, and I’m thankful the Department of Defense acted to protect our servicemembers and meet our national security objectives. And I’m proud to join my colleague, Rep. Sherrill to codify and expand on DoD’s decision to protect the rights of women in uniform.”
Congressman Crow continues to be a strong voice in the fight to protect abortion rights and expanding access to reproductive health care for servicemembers in Colorado and across the US. Following the Supreme Court’s misguided ruling rolling back nearly 50 years of precedent for abortion rights, Crow led efforts to allow military medical treatment facilities (MTF) to provide abortion services and cover associated costs and standardize and expand procedure across all military branches for servicemembers seeking abortion care.