We Need the Repeal of the Military Abortion Ban

OK folks, we have to talk.

We had a brutal, yet predictable, midterm election, there is no doubt about that. I am not one to hop up and down and yell "I told you so!" at administrations, especially when I need something from them (well, perhaps I am), but I am getting desperate and they haven't been pulling their weight. We have very little time to accomplish some important things before this session ends.

Military women are in need of many things, not the least of which is the right to have the same range of medical care that is available to the civilian women whom they defend back in the States when those servicewomen are stationed overseas. A range of overseas countries from the Republic of Korea to Iraq have laws making abortion services inaccessible; the only way to make certain that military women and civilian women who depend on military health care systems retain full access to all reproductive health care services is to allow privately funded abortions in military treatment facilities.

I am of the same mind as Nancy Keenan and NARAL Pro-Choice America in that I would support a dream world where abortion was publicly funded and TRICARE picked up the tab for a military beneficiary in need. But as a necessary immediate measure, I fully support the bill introduced by Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) that would at least allow for pre-paid, privately funded abortions in military facilities.

The issue of the military abortion ban has been an issue tossed around like a pig skin in a political backyard, as is noted on this NARAL Factsheet (PDF), since 1979. Despite the fact that abortion is legal in the country that military woman defend and civilian dependents (I really hate that term) give their lives to support, and despite the fact that reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics show that the ban is damaging to these women, anti-choice Congresspersons continue a bellicose effort to withhold rights from us.

That's right, us.

Because in an effort at transparency, this ban affects me personally, and many, many people whom I love and support, personally and professionally. I can't make it not personal, because it is personal. Our rights are being personally held at bay, even though despite what anti-choicers would tell you, no tax dollars are being used and no one will be forced to perform an icky abortion. All four branches have an "opt-out" and everyone would have to pre-pay.

Military women and beneficiaries deserve better than to have to beg for leave to travel to other countries to procure a procedure that is safe and legal in their own country. They deserve better than to have to disclose private information to get that permission from (usually male) commanders in order to secure leave and sometimes other paperwork. We are running out of time to give  these women their dignity back. You can sign NARAL's petition here. You can also sign this one to let the Senate know that military women deserve access to all legal medical services. Over 100,000 Active Duty women and countless civilian beneficiaries deserve your help.

Photo Credit: Beverly & Pack