[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6357 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6357

To establish leave policies of the Armed Forces for a member to seek an 
                               abortion.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 9, 2023

  Ms. Sherrill (for herself, Ms. Houlahan, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Crow, Mr. 
  Smith of Washington, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Norcross, Mr. 
Gallego, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Keating, Mr. Kim of 
     New Jersey, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Golden of Maine, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. 
 Strickland, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Jackson of North Carolina, Mr. Vasquez, Mr. 
 Deluzio, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Horsford, and Mr. 
   Panetta) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish leave policies of the Armed Forces for a member to seek an 
                               abortion.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Reproductive Care for 
Servicemembers Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Following the Supreme Court's decision to eliminate the 
        right to abortion, States across the country have moved swiftly 
        to ban abortion access, leading to even greater barriers to 
        care for military families.
            (2) Access to abortion care is essential to a person's 
        health and central to their economic and social well-being. 
        Bans and restrictions on abortion delay access to abortion care 
        and therefore increase costs for members of the Armed Forces 
        seeking care. The consequence of these delays and barriers 
        could mean that a person is forced to carry a pregnancy against 
        their will, which can greatly affect their bodily autonomy, 
        financial stability, and overall well-being.
            (3) The Armed Forces have a large presence in many States 
        poised to ban or restrict access to abortion, many of which 
        also neighbor States that would likely ban abortion.
            (4) Members of the Armed Forces seeking care off-base may 
        be limited in their ability to do so due to restrictions on 
        leave or travel restrictions imposed by their unit.
            (5) Restrictions on receiving approval to take leave for 
        abortion care interfere with a member of the Armed Forces' 
        health, well-being, and right to access the care they need. The 
        decision to terminate a pregnancy should not depend on the 
        discretion or judgment of a military commander.
            (6) The Secretary of Defense has recognized that abortion 
        is a time sensitive-procedure and access should not be delayed 
        for members or military families.
            (7) When a member of the Armed Forces decides to obtain an 
        abortion, it should be available, affordable, private, and free 
        from punishment, reprisal, or judgment by the member's chain of 
        command.
            (8) Commanders or approval authorities have a duty to 
        display objectivity, compassion, and discretion when addressing 
        all health care matters, including reproductive health care 
        matters, and to enforce existing policies against 
        discrimination and retaliation.
            (9) The harms of abortion-specific restrictions fall most 
        heavily on people who already face barriers to accessing health 
        care including people with low incomes, such as junior members, 
        and Black, Indigenous, and people of color, immigrants, young 
        people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+ community, and 
        those stationed in rural and other medically underserved areas.
            (10) Equal access to abortion care, everywhere, is 
        essential to social and economic participation, equality, 
        reproductive autonomy, and the right to determine a person's 
        own life and future.
            (11) The denial of leave for an abortion or any other 
        reproductive health service violates the rights of members of 
        the Armed Forces. Access to care for military families should 
        not be determined by the personal beliefs of others.
            (12) In addition to the health and well-being implications 
        for members of the Armed Forces and their families, the failure 
        to address these issues will contribute to the challenges that 
        the Armed Forces faces in attracting and retaining personnel, 
        thereby negatively affecting military strength and readiness.

SEC. 3. LEAVE FOR A MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES FOR ABORTION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary concerned (as such term is defined 
in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) shall, with regards to 
abortion care for a member of the Armed Forces or the dependent of such 
a member--
            (1) consider such care to be time-sensitive and therefore 
        approve leave for such abortion care; and
            (2) not require the member or dependent to disclose to a 
        commanding officer the time-sensitive care or procedure being 
        received during such leave.
    (b) Reimbursement for Travel.--The Secretary concerned shall 
reimburse a member or dependent of a member for costs incurred to 
travel to a clinic that provides abortion care and services if timely 
access to abortion services is not available near the member or 
dependent's location.
    (c) Privacy.--Health care providers of the Defense Health Agency 
and commanding officers shall, to the greatest extent practicable, 
protect the privacy of a member who takes leave under this section, 
including when such member makes a request for such leave and when such 
member returns to duty.
    (d) Prohibition.--No member of the Armed Forces may be subject to 
any adverse action for requesting, taking, or granting leave under this 
section.
                                 <all>