This is especially pertinent now, as new reports on the frequency of sexual assault of women in our military are coming out.
Servicewomen and female military dependents are banned from accessing abortion services – even when using their own private funds - at military hospitals overseas. They don’t even have the same right Medicaid recipients do to public support in cases of rape or incest. Our overseas military personnel deserve the same rights as women here in America.
As Congress considers the FY’05 Defense Authorization Act, as many as three amendments could be offered.
- Pro-choice Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) plans to offer an amendment that would repeal the ban prohibiting women in the military from using their own funds for abortion services at military facilities.
-Anti-choice Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) could try to impose a parental-notification mandate on young women who seek abortion services at Department of Defense facilities. Because abortion services are only allowed at these facilities under very narrow circumstances, Brownback’s amendment would impose an additional obstacle on those women seeking abortion care because their life is endangered or they are a victim of rape or incest.
Please take action today to defend the rights of those who defend us - urge your Senators, when they consider the Defense Authorization Act, to support amendments that would repeal current-law bans and oppose any attempts to make it more difficult for women to access safe abortion care.
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/military