Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and 35 of their Senate colleagues in urging the Pentagon to protect access to abortion and reproductive health care services for women.
“Following the Dobbs decision, the RAND Corporation estimates that 40% of active duty women serving in the continental United States face limited or no access to abortion services where they are stationed. When service members are assigned to duty stations either domestically or overseas, their placement is determined by the needs of the U.S. military. Women service members, who make up approximately 17% of active duty military, have no say in where they are stationed, even if their duty station is in a state that severely limits or restricts access to abortion or other critical reproductive health services. It is unacceptable that service members or their dependents should face limited or no access to abortion care simply because of where they are stationed as part of their service to the United States,” the Senators wrote.
In the letter, the Senators address and explain the numerous national security implications for restricting service members’ reproductive freedom in the wake of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. The Senators underscore the dangerous message sent to women in uniform that they cannot be trusted to make their own decisions about their health and families. The Senators conclude the letter by reaffirming Senate Democrats’ commitments to ensure the full implementation of the Department’s reproductive policies and to continue efforts in the Senate to fiercely defend service members and their families’ health and freedoms.
Full text of the letter is available HERE.
Senator Cortez Masto has been fierce advocate for women’s reproductive rights. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Senator Cortez Masto introduced the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022 to ensure legal protections for women traveling across state lines to receive reproductive care. She has urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect the data privacy of women seeking reproductive health care and joined colleagues in introducing the Affordability is Access Act, which would make sure women across the country have access to affordable over-the-counter birth control. Just last week, the Senator took on one of the nation’s biggest pharmaceutical wholesalers to ensure Nevadans can access the abortion pill in retail pharmacies.
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