[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H3486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
              ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE FOR OUR SERVICEMEMBERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New Jersey (Ms. Sherrill) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to fight for the fundamental 
rights of servicewomen and military families as they come under attack 
by the extreme Members of this legislative body.
  When our servicemen and -women joined the Armed Forces prior to the 
Dobbs decision last June, they did so with the understanding that they 
and their families would receive comprehensive, high-quality healthcare 
services regardless of where they were stationed. That includes, what 
was a constitutionally guaranteed right at the time most joined, 
abortion care, no matter the State in which their base was located.
  There are now 16 States that restrict access to abortion care at 16 
weeks or less. Just this week, Iowa passed a 6-week ban. The 
servicewomen and military families serving in every one of those States 
are now facing a completely different healthcare landscape than when 
they signed up to serve.
  According to one study, women in States with abortion bans are nearly 
three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon 
after giving birth. These are the conditions our servicewomen and 
military families are facing when they are assigned to serve on 
military bases across this country.
  In fact, since the Dobbs decision last year, 46 percent of 
servicemembers no longer have access to abortion care.
  We can state fact after fact about the disturbing health outcomes for 
women in certain States or the scope of this issue after Roe v. Wade 
was overturned.
  Today, I want to go beyond the numbers and share the personal and 
human impact of these anti-abortion laws.
  In Texas, Amanda Zurawski was 18 weeks pregnant when her water broke, 
putting her at high risk for developing a life-threatening infection. 
Doctors told Amanda that her life was in danger and the fetus was going 
to die. The doctors could not provide the medical care she needed 
because their hands were tied by Texas law.
  Because she was denied an abortion, Amanda eventually developed 
sepsis and nearly died. Her ability to get pregnant in the future may 
be damaged. Amanda survived and testified before the United States 
Senate in April about this harrowing experience where the laws of her 
home State of Texas nearly killed her.
  Around 120,000 servicemembers are currently serving in Texas alone. 
On top of that number, think of the number of family members living 
there with them. Our servicemembers sign up to serve our country with 
the understanding that one day they may be called upon to make the 
ultimate sacrifice. No servicemember should have to accept a reality 
where they could die as a result of the State laws where they are 
stationed.
  In the wake of the Dobbs decision, the Department of Defense 
recognized that abortion is a time-sensitive procedure and access 
should not be delayed for members or military families. They moved 
swiftly to put in place policies that ensure servicewomen living in 
highly restrictive States could travel to another State to receive the 
healthcare they need. This is the bare minimum our government can do to 
support and protect the women who signed up to serve our Nation.
  That is why I offered an amendment to this year's NDAA to codify this 
basic policy. My amendment was rejected, and instead, the majority in 
this House is moving forward with Representative Ronny Jackson's 
amendment that does the exact opposite.
  This extremist, anti-healthcare, anti-servicemember amendment is 
dangerous and must be defeated.
  Throughout the entire NDAA process, from the markup to the current 
consideration by the House, far right Members of this legislative body 
have tried to use the defense budget--a historically bipartisan, must-
pass piece of legislation--to force their extreme agenda on our 
servicemembers and our country.
  They are attacking servicewomen, LGBTQ+ servicemembers, immigrant 
servicemembers, and more. Why are they using the defense budget for 
this?
  Because they know they can't get these highly unpopular policies 
passed otherwise. America is not on their side.
  We cannot let them play politics with our national security. As I 
stand here before you, every flag officer promotion is being held up by 
Senator Tuberville to promote his extreme rightwing assault on women. A 
gentleman who was voted into office by less than 1.5 percent of the 
Nation is now holding our national security hostage.
  As Members of Congress, it is our duty and responsibility to stand up 
and support our military and to ensure they have the resources and 
healthcare they need to do their job and defend our Nation. I will 
never back down from that duty, and I know my colleagues speaking here 
today won't either.

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