Mike Levin: “We ask them to volunteer to serve in the military. Then we send them all over the world to serve our Nation's interests.…”

“We ask them to volunteer to serve in the military. Then we send them all over the world to serve our Nation's interests. When we ask them to serve in foreign countries, the least we can do is to ensure they receive medical care equal to what they would receive in the United States. Servicewomen and their dependents who are fortunate enough to be stationed in the United States and who make the difficult decision to have an abortion can, at their own expense, get a legal abortion performed by a doctor in a modern, safe, American medical facility with people who speak English. Military women stationed overseas do not have that opportunity under current law. That is what the Snowe-Murray amendment would change. The alternative of seeking an abortion from a host nation doctor who may or may not be trained to U.S. standards in a foreign facility where the staff may not even speak English is an unacceptable alternative. Our servicewomen deserve better. This amendment is not about conferring a fringe benefit on military women. It is, rather, a vote to remove a barrier to fair treatment of women in the military.”