I walked into the ICU when I was a second-year resident to meet my new patient. Sammy* had been transferred to my care from a different hospital overnight. She couldn’t talk because she was on life support and had a tube down her throat to help her breathe. I had all of her transfer records, but the data was not enough to explain why this 22-year-old woman was so very sick. Her mother was at the bedside holding her daughter’s hand. Sammy was an Airman in the U.S. Air Force, like her two brothers. Sammy’s father was a retired Staff Sergeant after 20 years of service including both Gulf Wars.

Sammy was five months pregnant and became had become ill. At the hospital where she was initially treated, the infection spread and she almost died. Ending the pregnancy would have improved her health status, but the military hospital where she was getting care was not able to do an abortion for her because the Hyde Amendment restricts coverage for military insurance. Because of the delay in care, she lost her pregnancy and her feet as well as multiple fingers, but did survive. Sammy’s mother had sent her husband and children to war, but had no idea the biggest threat to her family’s health was the government of the country they served.

*Name changed for privacy