Democrats Introduce Legislation To Offer Military Leave For Service Members To Get Abortions | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Dillon Burroughs.

    A group of House Democrats has introduced a new bill that would require the military to provide a leave of absence for service members to receive abortions, including military payment to cover out-of-state travel.

    The bill, called the "Access to Reproductive Care for Service Members Act," was introduced to respond to requests for abortions by military members in states that have tightened abortion laws following the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade in June.

    "Abortion access should be a right, not a privilege," Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, said in a statement on Tuesday.

    "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," she added.

    The new legislation will seek to add several new aspects to how abortions are handled by the military. First, it would redefine abortion as time-sensitive, requiring a commander to approve leave automatically. In addition, the act would allow service members to request and receive leave for abortion care without specifying to a commander the nature of the procedure.

    In cases in which abortion is not legally provided in the state where the service member is stationed, the bill would require the Department of Defense to cover travel expenses similar to other "necessary" healthcare travel.

    The new act would also prohibit retaliation or adverse action from commanding officers or other service members for getting an abortion.

    Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a co-sponsor of the legislation, argued that abortion is an issue of military preparation.

    "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," Crow said.

    "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," he added.

    The Democratic lawmakers argue that the projected cost of travel for military personnel going out-of-state for an abortion is $1,100 or more, almost half of the monthly pay for a junior enlisted service member. Speier argued that covering the abortion-related expenses was "the least we can do."

poll#152

With Roe v Wade (originated in 1973) overturned by the US Supreme Court, thereby allowing decisions on abortion legislation completely returned to the states: Where do you find your position on such a "Life and Death" issue for the American People?

  Yes, I approve of the US Supreme Court's decision to reinstate this "medical" issue back to the states' legislative responsibility to regulate.

  No, I believe that every woman should have complete access to abortion on demand.

  This issue is far beyond my intellectual capacity to understand.

583 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#154

Inarguably, the policies of the Democrats in congress and Joe Biden as the Executive is plunging the United States into a recession, if we are not already there; a recession that was completely avoidable. Will abrupt changes in policies occur in time?

  Yes, the Democrats have a bold plan, yet to be revealed, to save us.

  No, there will have to be a complete undoing of the damage done by these Democrats.

  I can't do simple math, so how am I to understand the concept of basic economics.

1,216 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?