Pentagon under pressure to protect abortion access
by Jordan Williams - 05/29/22 4:29 PM ET
Lawmakers and advocates are pressing the Department of Defense to protect access to abortion for servicewomen as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
The Army and the Air Force have made policy changes aimed at making leave for pregnancy termination easier.
But advocates say the Pentagon itself should issue rules that would allow service women to take leave to end pregnancies through abortion in order to eliminate disparities between the services on abortion access.
“This is not an Air Force issue, an Army issue, a Marine Corps issue, this is a national security Department of Defense personnel readiness issue,” said Rachel VanLandingham, an associate professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.
“So therefore, this policy should come from the Department of Defense itself. There’s no room for disparities amongst the services,” she added.
The Hyde Amendment forbids federal dollars from being used for abortions unless a pregnancy endangers the life of a mother, and Tricare, the military’s healthcare program, only covers abortion in those cases or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
more
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3504411-pentagon-under-pressure-to-protect-abortion-access/
