(Washington) Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin on Thursday ordered the US military to make it easier for servicewomen to get abortions as US states adopt ultra-restrictive abortion policies.
Posted yesterday at 2:55 p.m.
The Supreme Court in June revoked the case law Roe v. wade of 1972, which guaranteed this federal right, and referred the question to each state. Since then, a dozen conservative states have severely restricted or even prohibited access to abortion.
Women assigned to military bases located in these states must therefore take several days off to change states, at their own expense, in order to find a civilian clinic offering abortions.
According to a 1976 law, the military health system can only perform pregnancy terminations in the event of proven rape or incest, or if the life of the mother is at stake, but Mr. Austin took measures to facilitate access to abortion for troops and their families.
The Supreme Court’s decision had “an impact on the recruitment, retention in the ranks and the level of military readiness of our forces”, a US Department of Defense official told reporters.
The Minister of Defense has ordered his ministry to issue guidelines to make it easier for women in the military to take leave and have their travel expenses reimbursed.
He also ordered that steps be taken to respect their privacy. They will thus have more time to notify their military hierarchy of their pregnancy and the military health system will not have the right to discuss their reproductive health with their hierarchy, unless “the mission may be affected”.
Mr. Austin also wants to protect military doctors against any legal action in the States where the laws are the most restrictive, in particular by committing to cover their legal costs if they have any.