[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2137-S2139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Abortion

  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today with a 
simple question: When exactly was the moment when military women like 
me no longer had the right to bodily autonomy?
  Our Nation was just fine with me using my body as I saw fit when I 
chose

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to use it to fight wars on its behalf. It was all right with me using 
it as I wish when I decided to risk every drop of blood in this body to 
fly a Black Hawk into combat. It was even OK with me losing parts of 
this body, leaving parts of it strewn across a battlefield in Iraq in 
defense of this great Nation. In fact, people thanked me for my 
service, for making that incredibly personal choice about my own being, 
my own life. I know the same is true for many of the other female 
servicemembers and veterans who have made the similar decision to serve 
our Nation.

  So my question is, Precisely when do the folks pushing anti-choice 
policies think that we American women no longer have the basic human 
right to make our own decisions about our own health?
  I ask because over the past year since the Supreme Court announced 
its Dobbs ruling, we have faced an onslaught of anti-woman, anti-choice 
bills that would effectively turn women into second-class citizens, 
rendering them incapable of adjudicating matters related to their own 
bodies, transforming them from people with autonomy into mere vessels 
subject to the political whims of lawmakers whose beliefs tend more 
toward insurrectionist than feminist, lawmakers who think making 
America great again equates to sapping away women's rights again.
  This week is no exception because this week my colleagues across the 
aisle, led by my fellow veteran, Senator Ernst, are trying to hold our 
annual Defense bill negotiations hostage in an attempt to force through 
an extremist amendment that would overturn existing DOD policy--an 
amendment that would keep troops and their families who are stationed 
at military bases in anti-choice States from getting the resources they 
need to travel elsewhere to get basic reproductive healthcare.
  You know, our servicemembers often move every 2 or 3 years. They 
don't get to choose where they are stationed. They receive orders to be 
somewhere. Then they pack up their rucksacks and go. And I have seen 
estimates that about 40 percent are assigned to bases in States that 
now have draconian reproductive rights laws.
  If Senator Ernst's amendment to the NDAA becomes law, thousands of 
military women will be stripped of their right to bodily autonomy just 
because they have chosen to serve their country. Think about how 
shameful that is. Think about how disgraceful it is that so many of the 
same so-called leaders who applaud these women for choosing to put 
themselves in harm's way overseas are trying to wrest control over 
their bodies away from them when they are back on U.S. soil.
  Think about how astounding it is that the folks backing this kind of 
policy seem ignorant to the hypocrisy laden in the idea that the 
greatest democracy in the world--a nation born out of a fight against 
governmental overreach and that takes pride in self-determination--
would actually strip away the right to personal freedom from the very 
citizens who have sworn an oath to protect others' rights, to keep 
others free.
  When I fought in Iraq, at the beginning of our rotation, it was so 
early on in the war that full logistics were not yet set up. We were 
still living in tents and had no personal hygiene facilities other than 
the wet wipes we would get in care packages.
  So when it came time for me to deploy, Army doctors issued me birth 
control patches so I could control my menstrual cycle since for the 
first 2 months I was set to be downrange, there would be no female 
sanitary support. In other words, because I wouldn't be able to get 
tampons, pads, or the like for those early days yet still needed to fly 
my missions, it advantaged the military for me to control my 
reproductive cycle. I was happy to do it because it was for the good of 
the Army, the good of the mission, and thus the good of this Nation 
that I love more than life itself.
  But looking back, especially after this week, my takeaway is that our 
country was just fine with me seeking reproductive care when it suited 
them but only when it suited them because today we live in an America 
whose representatives waver even on the basic question of whether women 
should have access to the kind of care they readily supplied me when it 
fit their needs.
  To me, this Republican amendment effectively punishes women for their 
willingness to put on the uniform. The policy is both morally corrupt 
and militarily shortsighted, as how could it not impact the future 
recruitment and retention of our Armed Forces if women understand that 
if they wear our Nation's colors, that if they follow orders and are 
stationed at whatever base they are told to report to, their 
fundamental rights may remain forever out of reach?
  Yes, we are talking about abortions here certainly, but this 
amendment my colleagues are so focused on passing also impacts a range 
of other basic lifesaving and sometimes even life-creating reproductive 
care, including fertility treatments, both for those who have worn the 
uniform and for the partners of those who serve, or the urgent medical 
services needed in the tragic event they miscarry a child they do want.
  So when I hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle champion 
this policy, what I hear them say is that they either don't understand 
or don't care about the very real, severe effects that servicemembers 
and dependents could face if they can't access reproductive care.
  What I hear them say is that they want to force female servicemembers 
to give birth whether they want to or not, whether they are ready to or 
not, regardless of the burden, the cost, the implications for their 
careers and, more importantly, their lives.
  What I hear them say is that they don't believe that the readiness of 
women servicemembers affects our military's readiness, that they don't 
think recruiting women is important for the future of our military, 
that they don't care about the contribution women make to our Armed 
Forces, that they don't value the service of women, point blank.
  Ultimately, sadly, that means they don't care about solving our 
military's recruiting challenges as much as they do about getting on 
the good side of anti-choice billionaires who bankroll campaigns. That 
is offensive and hypocritical.
  These proposals are misogynistic and sadistic. These proposals are 
craven and cowardly. In other words, it is a perfect snapshot of 
today's self-interested, self-defeating GOP.
  Look, we Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee have used 
every negotiation tactic under the Sun to try to stop our Republican 
colleagues from crashing down the entire Defense bill negotiations with 
this one poison pill. But let me be clear. We cannot pass a Defense 
funding bill if this amendment is hidden deep in its fine print. We 
have even offered to hold a separate vote on this same exact policy as 
a stand-alone bill--a solution that would both protect this week's 
larger NDAA process while also letting the rest of the Senate have a 
say on this single piece of legislation. But Republicans have decried 
this offer, calling it a ploy. It is not a ploy. We are giving them the 
vote they say they want.
  They don't want a solution. They don't want fairness. They just want 
to scream and shout. They want to show off to the most fringe parts of 
their base, knowing that in a few days they will somehow contort 
reality and blame Democrats even when they are well aware that their 
own political agenda is at fault for Congress failing to pass this 
critical national defense legislation.
  Just as I made my own decision about my body when I signed up to fly 
Black Hawks in Iraq, I am making my choice today to use my voice to say 
``enough.''
  We must not allow Republicans to score political points by 
restricting the personal freedom of the very people who have dedicated 
their lives to defending that most fundamental, most American ideal.
  Our female servicemembers, veterans, and military families, deserve 
access to healthcare, regardless of what part of the country they 
happen to be stationed in. They deserve to have full control over their 
bodies here at home, just as they did when they were carrying rucksacks 
and M4s on those bodies overseas.
  To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if you care about 
the

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strength of our military, if you care about defending our freedoms that 
have defined America since the first drop of ink was written on our 
Constitution, then you will vote against this amendment. Please do not 
abandon the women who have done so much to keep our Union safe. Please 
do not repay our heroes for their sacrifices by telling them what they 
can and cannot do with their bodies they put at risk time and again to 
protect our country.
  Please, as you sit at your fancy desks under this hallowed, historic 
dome, ask yourself if you are so desperate for a pat on the back from 
FOX News that you would be willing to vote to strip away the rights 
these women have spent their lives protecting. I certainly could not 
live with that decision--with that vote. I hope the same is true for 
each of my colleagues.
  I yield the floor.