Jackie Speier: “I thank the gentlewoman for her powerful comments. On top of everything else, we passed one law which was the Hyde…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for her powerful comments. On top of everything else, we passed one law which was the Hyde amendment, that said you can't use Federal funds for medical abortions, so Medicaid was not made available for that purpose. But many States have decided to cover it anyway. But that wasn't enough for the Congresses some years ago. They decided that we would ban any abortion at a military treatment facility except for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. So that means a servicemember can't go to the military treatment facility on their base, get the abortion, and pay for it themselves. We make them jump through hoop after hoop after hoop. And then, we ask ourselves, why do we have a recruitment problem? I think it is pretty obvious. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan), my colleague on the House Armed Services Committee, and on the Military Personnel Subcommittee, and a former servicemember, to comment on this issue as well.”