Abortion Access in the Military

Floor Speech

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Ms. JACOBS of California. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Speier for her leadership today and her leadership on this issue. It has been truly incredible to learn and serve under her.

I am so proud to represent San Diego's vibrant and diverse military community in Congress and on the House Committee on Armed Services.

When I go home and talk to my constituents, they ask me what I am doing to make sure their loved ones are taken care of, that they are going to be safe, not just when they are deployed abroad but when they are here at home.

I have to look these families in the eye and tell them that right now, their loved ones who do so much to serve and sacrifice for our country will not necessarily have safe housing, affordable childcare, and quality healthcare, including reproductive healthcare.

We owe our servicemembers so much more, because even though they volunteered to serve in our armed services, they didn't volunteer to give up their reproductive rights. Decisions about if, when, and how to have a family belong to our servicemembers, not the Supreme Court or elected officials. Taking away these fundamental rights doesn't just hurt these individuals. It hurts our military readiness, recruitment, retention, and morale, putting our national security in jeopardy.

With 40 percent of Active-Duty servicewomen having very limited or zero access to abortion services where they are stationed, our military's ability to adapt to evolving conflicts and challenges is severely compromised.

I am proud to be from California where abortion is currently safe and legal. But not everyone is lucky enough to be stationed in California. As of July, about 84,000 servicewomen were stationed at a base located in a State with a trigger law, and with new abortion bans going into effect, that number will only grow.

No matter where you live or are stationed, no matter how much money you make, you should have access to abortion.

The truth is, that none of us can take our existing State laws for granted, because a Republican majority in Congress or a Republican President will push for a national abortion ban. This isn't even a secret. They have literally already introduced it.

We also need to remember that even before the Supreme Court took away our constitutional right to abortion, servicemembers faced huge barriers to accessing necessary reproductive healthcare. The DOD already cannot provide or pay for abortions in most circumstances, and servicemembers looking for care off base were limited by restrictions on travel. After Dobbs, abortion access is even harder for servicemembers. They can't freely take off days from work, and many cannot afford to travel the thousands of miles and pay out of pocket to receive the care they need and deserve.

This is unacceptable. We have a responsibility to ensure our servicemembers have access to the care they need. That is why I joined my friend, Congresswoman Speier, to introduce the MARCH for Servicemembers Act, which would allow military medical treatment facilities to provide abortion services and permit the military to cover the associated costs.

It is why I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act, introduced this week by Congressman Crow and Congresswoman Speier. This crucial legislation would ensure leave requests to seek an abortion are confidential and approved without delay and push to have DOD provide travel reimbursement for those seeking abortion care.

None of these solutions are radical. They are not extreme. All they do is empower and support our servicemembers to make their own healthcare decisions. When we have already asked our servicemembers to put their lives on the line for our freedom, we cannot and should not take away theirs.

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