On the recordSeptember 20, 2022
I rise this afternoon to hold this Special Order on a very important issue. It is an issue about abortion access in the military. I thank my colleagues for joining me and elevating their voices on the experience of our troops who are terrified that they will be stationed in a State where they cannot control their bodies. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs overturned 50 years of precedent recognizing the constitutional right to abortion. The Court stated that their opinion merely returned the issue of abortion rights to the States, and that women can vote for whom they wish to represent their values. But servicemembers don't have that right. They don't get to choose where they live. This leaves 230,000 servicewomen who could be ordered to a State that forces them to stay pregnant, even under circumstances where they have been raped, because that is what some of the States in this grand Union have decided is the law of the land in their State. Let me tell you that this is going to have profound impacts on the issues that really are of great concern to us who oversee the military right now. Recruitment is down. Retention is a problem, and readiness is a problem. That is only going to be exacerbated by having a situation where these servicewomen who become pregnant are going to have to travel long distances to get an abortion.…
