Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
House committee rejects proposal to repeal military abortion restrictions
Loading...
Summary
An amendment to repeal statutory limits on abortion within the military health system drew extensive debate and was rejected by the committee in a recorded vote.
Representative Sherrill of New Jersey offered an amendment to repeal restrictions in Title 10 that limit abortion care within the military health system. She framed the amendment as restoring access to reproductive health care for service women and military families stationed in states with abortion limits.
Sherrill said, “The military is one of the most trusted institutions among the American people... The decision to get an abortion is deeply personal and should be made by a woman and her doctor, not by politicians.” She cited cases she described as avoidable deaths when exceptions to state abortion bans were not honored and urged repeal of the statutory restriction.
Opponents, including Representative Crank, argued the amendment would force taxpayers to fund elective abortions and would violate long-standing bipartisan agreements. “The prohibition on federal funds for elective abortions has been the law of the land for over 40 years,” Crank said.
Other members weighing in included Representative Houlihan, who described the amendment as necessary to ensure service members can access care when stationed in states she described as restrictive, and Representative Takeda, who framed the change as ensuring access wherever service members are stationed. Representative Fallon, among opponents, said data did not show declines in women serving and criticized characterizations of states with restrictive laws.
The committee held a recorded vote. The transcript records a final tally on the amendment showing the ayes were 26 and the nays 31; the amendment was not agreed to in committee.
Why it matters: proponents said repeal would ensure uniform access to reproductive health care for service members and their families regardless of station; opponents argued it would change longstanding restrictions on federal funding for elective abortion and was politically and fiscally objectionable.
Details: proponents cited DOD travel policy changes that allow travel for reproductive care but said travel is insufficient; the amendment would have repealed the statutory restriction in Title 10 (section cited in debate). The committee rejected the amendment in a recorded vote.
