May. 27, 2023
By Sylvia Ghazarian
The United States military is one of the largest employers in the world, with over 1.3 million active-duty personnel and millions more veterans and their families. It is important that military personnel, who have bravely served the country, have access to comprehensive healthcare, including abortion care, regardless of where they are stationed or deployed. This is especially crucial given the barriers to accessing abortion care that military personnel often face due to restrictive policies on abortion funding.
Tricare, the military health insurance program, currently does not cover all abortions, and in cases where the pregnancy poses a risk to the health or life of the pregnant person, a physician must certify that an abortion is necessary. This policy undermines the reproductive rights and privacy of military personnel and puts their health and well-being at risk.