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Reps. Crow, Speier Introduce Bill to Protect Abortion Care for US Servicemembers

September 20, 2022

40% of Servicemembers Lack Access to Abortion Care, Impacting Recruitment & Troop Readiness

WASHINGTON – Rep. Jason Crow (CO-06), former Army Ranger and member of the House Armed Services Committee, today was joined by Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14), Task Force Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, in introducing a bill to codify and expand access to abortion care for US servicemembers. This effort would expand on existing Army and Air Force policy that requires commanders to approve leave for abortion care automatically and guarantees privacy protections for servicemembers seeking abortions. 

The Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act comes after the Supreme Court’s recent opinion overturning the federal right to access abortion in the United States. According to a recent RAND study, 40 percent of women per year working for the Defense Department are now expected to face challenges when seeking abortions under new state laws.

“A woman’s choice to have an abortion should remain between her and her doctor – including for our servicemembers. Ensuring our troops have access to safe and reliable abortion care is both a matter of principle and troop readiness,” saidRep. Crow. “During my time in the Army, I served alongside talented and brave servicewomen. Their service was – and is – a huge part of what makes our military the greatest fighting force in the world. That’s why I’m proud to lead this effort with my colleague, Rep. Speier to codify critical protections for American women.”

“Abortion access should be a right, not a privilege. Yet a recent study estimated that 40 percent of servicemembers will have no or severely restricted access to abortion services where they are stationed – something they have no control over. The fallout of being denied care will be catastrophic, as is the threat to our military readiness, recruitment, morale, and unit cohesion,” said Rep. Speier, Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. “For servicemembers who must travel for an abortion, the expected cost is $1,100 or more, which is almost half of the monthly pay for a typical junior enlisted servicemember. The very least we can do is reimburse servicemembers’ travel expenses and ensure their request for leave is approved free from retaliation. I’m proud to co-lead this legislation with Rep. Crow that will do just that.”

“Given the nightmare facing pregnant people who need abortion care, it is critical that members of our Armed Forces have access to leave for abortion without barriers. We thank Representatives Crow and Speier for introducing legislation that would secure this access. All people, including service members, should be able to control their own bodies, lives, and futures - without political interference,” said Leila Abolfazli, Director of Federal Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center.

Reproductive health care, including abortion, is a time-sensitive procedure. However, servicemembers face many challenges when seeking abortion care, from needing to request approval from their commander to take leave, to traveling long distances when they are stationed in places where abortion is unavailable, to lacking the financial means to travel off base for the care – including renting a car, purchasing a plane ticket, or paying hotel costs. 

Further, upon return to duty, servicemembers may face retaliation for having an abortion if the information is disclosed to their commander or other servicemembers. These hurdles are in addition to servicemembers needing to navigate both federal bans on abortion care and healthcare coverage when seeking an abortion. Limiting access to these services will negatively impact the morale, retention, and overall health and readiness of the Armed Forces. 

To this end, the Army and Air Force established policies that enable servicemembers to request leave for abortion care without requiring pre-approval from their commander or disclosing the nature of the health care service. Prior to this policy change, soldiers, airmen, and guardians could be required to disclose to their commander that they were requesting leave for abortion care. Under such a policy, it is possible that a commander refuses to grant the leave, or later retaliates against the servicemember because of personal objections to abortion.

Specifically, the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act would:

  1. Redefine abortion as time-sensitive, therefore requiring a commander to approve leave automatically;
  2. Allow servicemembers to request and receive leave for abortion care without specifying to a commander the nature of the procedure; 
  3. In the case that abortion care is not provided in the servicemembers’ jurisdiction, require DoD to pay for travel expenses – consistent with DoD policy for other necessary healthcare travel; and
  4. Prohibit retaliation or adverse action from commanding officers or fellow servicemembers for receiving an abortion.

The recent RAND study predicts between 5,000 and 7,400 active-duty female troops and women employed by the Defense Department as civilians will seek an abortion each year, but will struggle to do so where they live because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

This bill is part of an ongoing effort by Crow and Speier to protect abortion access for servicemembers. In June, the Members introduced the MARCH for Servicemembers Act, a bill that would allow military medical treatment facilities to provide abortion services and for the military to cover associated costs.

The Members also recently led an effort pressing Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to expand this access as a matter of Department of Defense Policy.

The Members are joined by 14 additional Democratic co-sponsors on their bill.

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text here.

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