DOD MOVES TO PROTECT ACCESS TO ABORTION

摘要

An estimated 80,000 female, active duty service members are stationed in states where their access to abortion has been restricted by state laws enacted since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June. To give back some of that access, the Pentagon will provide leave and reimburse travel costs for troops who must go out of state to end a pregnancy. This move is one of a handful of policies the Defense Department unveiled in a memo signed Oct. 20 by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, including privacy protections for service members seeking reproductive health care and assurances for military health care providers in situations where states might retaliate against them for performing abortions under federal law.