Democrats Ask Pentagon to ‘Protect Abortion’ for Service Members, Citing National Security

On March 27, Senate Democrats asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to” protect pregnancy” for members of the U.S. war.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen( D-NH ) and the majority of the Senate Democrats co-signed a letter on March 27 that made the argument that women in the military having access to abortions was essential to national security( pdf ).

The decades-old precedence of Roe v. Wade, which restricted states’ ability to regulate and outlaw abortion, was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization way that the Constitution did not grant an abortion up, and as a result, it turned the matter back to the states for decision.

As most states had passed contraception laws in anticipation of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, most state laws restricting abortion then went into effect right away.

Democrats instantly objected to the choice, calling it a setback for women’s rights in the eyes of its detractors.

However, due to Senate regulations that make it challenging to pass national policy, the party has few federal options for responding to the decision.

Austin, the Pentagon’s commander, has taken some action to keep abortions legal.

Austin has offered federal assistance to pregnant women serving in the military to travel, pay for transportation, and take time off work to have an abortion in two directives — one issued in October 2022 and the other in February 2023.

Democrats” strong support” for these measures were stated in their email to Austin.

The letter states, citing ongoing legal challenges to the second most popular abortion drug,” It is imperative that the Department of Defense ( DOD) continue to take action to protect the rights of service members and their families to access abortion care.” The Federal Drug Administration’s approval of the disputed medication, mifepristone, is the focus of an ongoing national petition.

Shaheen asserted that accessing miscarriages by military women is essential to U.S. national security.

Shaheen wrote,” When service members are assigned to duty stations, either domestically or abroad, their placement is determined by the needs of the U.S. military ,” citing statistics that indicate 40 % of female servicemembers have” limited” access to abortion. Even if their duty station is in a state that severely restricts or limits access to abortion or other essential reproductive health services, women service members, who make up about 17 % of the military’s active duty personnel, have no control over where they are stationed.

As part of their service to the United States, it is intolerable for service customers or their children to have low or no access to contraception care, Shaheen continued.

According to Shaheen,” the United States does not respect those who serve in dress to make their own decisions about their medical care and communities ,” which is why there is opposition to abortion.

Shaheen argued that the Dobbs ruling also affects the ongoing selection problems facing the American military.

As states continue to forbid or limit access to contraception services, sending a note that some service members’ power and ability to obtain the health care they require does not matter, and putting additional barriers and for burdens for service member and their families, recruiting and retention will only be made more difficult.

Democrats urged the DOD to maintain Austin’s plan of enhancing access to contraception for women in the war as they concluded the letter.

The Department must also take into account the numerous obstacles that service members now face in accessing abortion care under its new policy, including stigma and discrimination, out-of-pocket costs, delayed wait times, and the volatility of abortion access from state to state as legislatures move to enact abortion bans, according to Shaheen.

The email was signed by a number of well-known Democrats, including Sens. Maggie Hassan( D – N. H. ), Mark Warner, Catherine Cortez Masto, Mark Kelly, and Mark Ariz.

Sen. Joe Manchin( D-W. Va. ), who during the previous Congress assisted Republicans in blocking a bill that would have codified and greatly expanded the Roe precedent into U.S. law, is noticeably absent from the letter’s signatories. Sen. Bob Casey( D-Pa. ), a self-described pro-life Democrat who has voted with his party on the majority of abortion-related issues brought before the Senate, did not sign the letter either.