By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has not only taken a wrecking ball to reproductive rights - it has taken a wrecking ball to military readiness. America will be less secure as a result. [🧵]
Even before today, abortion services for active duty troops were extremely limited & only provided by military health care if the pregnancy was a result of sexual assault or threatened the life of the pregnant person - and only if the base had services avail (which many don't).
Service members and their families who require abortion care for any other reason must go off-base and pay out of pocket for these services.
As of today’s ruling, tens of thousands of military troops and their families are now stationed in states where abortion is banned and criminalized. There are no longer off-base options for these members of our military and their families.
Service members who need abortion care not provided or allowed to them on-base will have to travel through multiple states on their own dime just to get to a state where abortion is legal.
This inflicts a significant cost - not only to the service member but to overall military readiness - by forcing troops to take significant leave from their post.
Most alarmingly, service members who require emergency surgical abortion services not available on their military installations may not be able to reach them in time, threatening their very lives.
Further, the privacy of service members who become pregnant will essentially become non-existent. Those who wish to terminate a pregnancy or who must out of medical necessity will be forced to tell their superiors in order to seek leave, making a private decision public.
Worse, their fate will be determined by superiors who may have their own personal views on the issue of abortion. This means that a member of the US military may be forced to carry a pregnancy to term simply because her commanding officer will not approve her leave request.
The @DeptofDefense must take steps immediately to ensure ALL service members & their families have access to abortion. The military must institute & enforce directives that allow troops to access abortion no matter where they are stationed in a way that maintains their privacy.
For lawmakers, the time is long past to consider whether the ban on comprehensive abortion services on DOD facilities is consistent with military readiness. In light of today's ruling, this law creates significantly greater risks to our national security than it did yesterday
Additionally, the @DeptVetAffairs, which is not subject to Hyde, should immediately conduct a full review of the regulations that govern its own restrictions on abortion. @SecVetAffairs may have the authority to overturn existing regs & begin providing abortion to VA patients.
All of us who served took an oath to uphold and protect our Constitution. It is an oath that we take seriously. While we recognize that the Constitution allows the Court to make this terrible decision, it does not require us to be silent or forbid us from fighting back.
As veterans, we served our country in defense of freedom. We will not be silent as the freedom to make our own choices about our bodies is taken away here at home. We will not stop fighting until reproductive rights are fully restored for all our troops and all Americans.
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