A Barrier Drops for Military Women*
From the New York Times:
A small but important provision of the military budget bill just signedby President Obama ends a longstanding act of discrimination against women who serve in America’s military.
Offered by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, the provision lifts a statutory ban on giving female service members insurance coverage for abortions in cases of rape and incest. Since 1988,military health plans have paid for abortions only when a pregnancy endangers a women’s life.
That policy was all the more unjustifiable given the serious andcontinuing problemof sexual assault among service members, and in light of the more respectful treatment accorded civilians who work for the federal government or rely on Medicaid. These nonsoldiers are allowed to use their government insurance to pay for abortions in cases of rape as well as in life-threatening situations.
The new provision does not end the difficulty that military women have in accessing safe abortion care. Next, Congress and the administration must end another longstanding restriction that prevents servicewomen from obtaining abortions at military hospitals and clinics, even if the women pay the bill. Current law bans abortions at military facilities, except in instances of rape or incest, or when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life.
The rule is a special hardship for servicewomen stationed in foreign countries, particularly in a war zone like Afghanistan. Women serving overseas should have the same basic health care that other American women enjoy and should not have to risk their health, privacy or future career advancement in order to exercise a constitutionally protected right.
Two New York Democrats, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Louise Slaughter, will soon be reintroducing legislation to allow women to obtain abortions on military bases with private funds. It asks members of Congress to stop burdening soldiers with ideological restrictions on their health care.
As the article mentions, there’s a long way to go, but I’m thrilled that the Shaheen Amendment is law!
*Not only women need abortions
My friends know me so well.
Well said, Barbara.
This is an incredible and important post about abortion funds, restrictive legislation on abortion, and the harsh realities of living in the USA right now.
[NB: more people than just cis women want and need access to abortion care.]
(via keepyourbsoutofmyuterus)
This is how the woman who died wound up at Gosnell’s. There was no one near her that performed abortions, got too far along for the reputable guys, and wound up coming all the up to Philly from Maryland to see Gosnell. And then she died.
Had she had access to good, affordable reproductive care, she would still be alive. And Gosnell never would have had a practice.
(via blueandbluer)
For all you people who are for abortion…
…imagine that your parents had the same belief and you were aborted. Would you support it then? I guess we wouldn’t know because you wouldn’t live a life to have an opinion if that happened.
This is just another example of liberal hypocrisy.
My adoptive mother is pro-choice.
My birth mother and the birth mothers of my siblings are probably pro-choice too. They were all denied choice. They were all forces to remain pregnant. And as such neglected to give the fetus’ that later became me and my siblings the proper prenatal care. Which means… are you ready for this… we all have medical issues that stem from that neglect.
And you are right… we would never have lived and there for never had an opinion. But our birth mothers may have gone on to cure cancer if they had not been forced to remain pregnant. (hate that argument, but felt it was fitting)
It is really simple. Living breathing pregnant people deserve to make the choices that are best for themselves. PERIOD.
If my mom was pro-choice, I’d still be here because she was trying to have a baby. Surprise, surprise. Choice means you can choose to have a baby.
Wouldn’t matter if she had chosen to abort me, though. Because I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be aware of my avoided existence.
Or maybe I would have incarnated into some other body or found myself in Limbo since I think the Catholics closed that after my conception. Or, in Protestant systems, I don’t know where I would have ended up (Protestants have so many differing opinions) but it wouldn’t have been as bad as growing up and then going to hell because of ridiculous reasons which are completely irrelevant to this conversation.
My mom is pro-choice, and while I would have supported her decision to have an abortion, that would have been weird because she paid to get pregnant in the first place…
(Source: far-left)
Mitt could even say that he’s the Devil Incarnate and Repubs would still vote for him.
It’s tragically pathetic!!
This is infuriatingly correct. The only thing that Mitt could say could cause him to lose votes with some people would be for him to say that he was really Obama in disguise.
Because Mitt is really irrelevant. He’s just a warm body that’s not Obama.
The final test of that is if a Republican knows Mitt Romney made part of his millions from abortion. I wonder how many Republicans know the truth about Romney and his abortion-money?
Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses, Government Documents Show
↑ THIS. It’s what Romney’s hiding in his tax returns.
WAT.
Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies in the U.S. end in abortion. Yet, as common (and legal) as this medical procedure is, it’s still radicalized - even considered shameful. It’s so important for us to tell our stories and stand together!
![keepyourbsoutofmyuterus:
[article from which this screen capture comes]
I’m a broken record on this but…
If anyone is looking for a slippery slope, HERE IT IS. One of the two national political parties in the USA doesn’t believe that most of the country has a right to bodily autonomy.
The GOP cannot lean further right.
I can’t.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9357vp6xq1qhb2nco1_500.png)
[article from which this screen capture comes]
I’m a broken record on this but…
If anyone is looking for a slippery slope, HERE IT IS. One of the two national political parties in the USA doesn’t believe that most of the country has a right to bodily autonomy.
The GOP cannot lean further right.
I can’t.
