Mike Levin: “I support the Murray amendment for a number of reasons. Before I get to them, let me just say that I think all of us…”

“I support the Murray amendment for a number of reasons. Before I get to them, let me just say that I think all of us recognize that the issue of abortion can stir so many emotions so quickly that it is important for us to understand what any amendment before us does and what it does not do. It is important to really focus on both. What does it do and what doesn't it do? This amendment would allow a woman seeking an abortion to pay for it from her own funds at a military hospital overseas. That is what it does. There has been a prohibition on this use of military hospitals since the 1996 Defense Authorization Act was enacted. This amendment would repeal that prohibition. In doing so, the amendment would allow a woman serving in our Armed Forces overseas who chooses to have an abortion to have that abortion performed in a modern American medical facility by well-trained doctors who have volunteered for that duty, provided that all costs and fees associated with the abortion are paid in advance, using private funds.”