Washington DC - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and 17 of their Senate colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense—U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)—in releasing the following statement on the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) rescission of policy that allowed service members to get reimbursed for travel and transportation for non-covered reproductive care. Earlier this week, DoD updated its Joint Travel Regulations to rescind this policy.
“This decision strips away service members’ ability to access the reproductive care they need, which is nothing short of abhorrent. It runs contrary to a core goal of the Department of Defense – to ensure the health and wellbeing of all our service members so that our force remains ready at all times to protect Americans and keep this nation safe.
“U.S. service members have no control over where they are stationed and what state laws may govern their bodies. The policy that the Department of Defense took away from our servicewomen and military families provided them the ability to travel to another state to seek out the care they need. Rescinding that does nothing to enhance military readiness.
“At a time when we are already facing military recruitment and retention challenges, we should do all we can to assure those who answer the call to serve America that we will do everything in our power to support them and their families. Instead, this extreme action does the opposite and sends a message to servicewomen—who make up more than 17 percent of our military’s active duty—that they are not as valuable as their male counterparts.
“We will do everything in our power to mitigate the impact that this extreme decision will have on members of our military and ensure their health and safety comes first.”
Last Congress, Murray, Shaheen, and others introducido los Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act—legislation that would codify the DoD’s February 16, 2023 política to ensure service members and their families can access non-covered reproductive health care, including abortion services, regardless of the state in which they are stationed.
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