NJ Congresswoman Pushes For More Reproductive Rights In Military
NEW JERSEY — Serving in the U.S. military doesn't mean that a woman loses her rights to reproductive care – including abortions and access to contraceptives, a congresswoman from New Jersey says.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) recently introduced two proposed federal laws involving access to reproductive care for servicewomen and military families.
Here's what the bills would do if they cross the finish line, Sherrill said:
ABORTION RIGHTS – The Expanding Knowledge on Military Reproductive Health Care Act would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide service members with information on the reproductive health care, including abortion care, they are entitled to in the military health care system; how they can find reproductive care not provided by military health providers; and how they can request leave and travel reimbursement if they need to travel to another state to receive an abortion. Additionally, the DOD would be required to provide doctors with information and training on their obligation to provide reproductive care, including abortions in circumstances covered by current federal law. Information for service members and medical personnel would need to be provided annually and within two weeks of a change of station.
CONTRACEPTIVES – The Improved Contraception Access for Service Members Act would require TRICARE to allow active-duty servicemembers and beneficiaries the ability to access up to 365-day supplies of contraception at military treatment facility pharmacies, certain retail pharmacies, and the TRICARE national mail-order pharmacy program.
The congresswoman – a former helicopter pilot for the U.S. Navy – said the bills are "deeply personal," as her daughter recently enlisted in the Navy.
"I know that she and her fellow servicewomen do not have a choice where they are sent to serve," Sherrill said.
But with states across the country launching anti-abortion legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in 2022, the nation's servicewomen need some written protection that guarantees them the same rights they'd have in their home state, Sherrill argued.
"We send servicewomen overseas to risk their lives for their country," she said. "We should not be sending them to Texas or Florida to lose access to basic reproductive health care and risk their lives giving birth."
"As MAGA extremists continue to implement abortion bans nationwide, we have a responsibility to ensure that women have the baseline reproductive care and rights they need," Sherrill urged.
Sherrill's legislation has seen endorsements from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Center for Reproductive Rights, Minority Veterans of America, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Power to Decide, and Reproductive Freedom for All.
"This should not be up for debate: Service members and their families deserve access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health care – including birth control and abortion," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Sherrill is running for re-election as a Democrat on Nov. 5. She faces challenges from Joseph Belnome (Republican Party), Lily Benavides (Green Party) and Joshua Lanzara (Truth Freedom Prosperity Party).
New Jersey's 11th District includes the following municipalities:
Female military members' reproductive health care rights have also caught the eye of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, who signed a memo in 2022 that orders the U.S. Department of Defense to "take all appropriate action ... as soon as possible" to "ensure that our servicemembers and their families can access reproductive health care and our health care providers can operate effectively."
"Our servicemembers and their families are often required to travel or move to meet our staffing, operational, and training requirements," Austin wrote. "Such moves should not limit their access to reproductive health care. The practical effects of recent changes are that significant numbers of Service members and their families may be forced to travel greater distances, take more time off from work, and pay more out of pocket expenses to receive reproductive health care."
"In my judgment, such effects qualify as unusual, extraordinary, hardship, or emergency circumstances for servicemembers and their dependents and will interfere with our ability to recruit, retain, and maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force," Austin added.
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