Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that outlines the nation’s defense spending, with multiple anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ amendments, 219-210. Yesterday, Republicans forced a vote on an amendment to the House Floor which rolls back a Department of Defense (DoD) policy helping service members travel to get the abortion care they need. That amendment and multiple amendments banning gender affirming care for both service-members and dependents, although strongly opposed by a majority of Democrats, ultimately passed.
President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, Dr. Jamila Perritt, responds:
Everyone deserves access to essential care like abortion and gender affirming care, including service-members and their families
“As a physician and an abortion provider, I am outraged by the passage of the NDAA with multiple harmful provisions attacking essential health care for our country’s service-members and their families. Access to abortion care has been compromised for many people, including our service members, for a long time.
“State level abortion bans and restrictions that went into effect long before the Dobbs decision, as well as those that have been enacted following that ruling, have essentially guaranteed that people cannot and will not get the abortion care they need. The result of this ruling is that our country’s service members and families will be forced to travel off base for reproductive health care, including abortion care that is not covered or offered at their base, facing more barriers to care.
“Everyone deserves access to essential care like abortion and gender affirming care, including service-members and their families. At PRH, we will continue to call out and fight back against any attack on people’s freedom and bodily autonomy to make the health care decisions right for them.”