FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

CONTACT:

NAF Communications Department
202-667-5881

Servicewomen Overseas Deserve the Same Access to Safe and Legal Medical Procedures as their Civilian Counterparts

Statement of Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation

The House of Representatives will vote today on a critical amendment to the FY 2006 National Defense Authorization Act to allow women stationed overseas access to safe and legal abortion care at military hospitals at their own expense. Current law allows military hospitals to provide abortions only in the cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment. This ban on privately funded abortion care at overseas military bases forces servicewomen to compromise their privacy, dignity, and safety in order to access necessary reproductive health care services.

An amendment offered by Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) would remove the discriminatory ban on privately funded abortions at overseas military hospitals and would make abortion accessible at American bases in countries where abortion is legal. This amendment ensures that servicewomen could receive health care services comparable to those available in the United States.

Given all that we ask of our servicemen and women stationed overseas, we should at least allow them to access the same health care services on military bases that they could obtain right here in the United States.

The National Abortion Federation strongly urges Members of Congress to support the Davis Amendment and ensure equal access to reproductive health care for American servicewomen, military wives, and their daughters, no matter where they are stationed.

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The National Abortion Federation is the professional association of abortion providers in North America dedicated to ensuring that abortion remains, safe, legal, and accessible.
www.prochoice.org

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