Pete Stark: “the Lowey-Harman amendment will restore the ability of our female service members and female dependents stationed…”

“the Lowey-Harman amendment will restore the ability of our female service members and female dependents stationed overseas to exercise their constitutional right to choose safe abortion services, using their own funds to obtain services in military hospitals. This is an important access-to-health-care amendment. Military women depend on their base hospitals for all of their medical services. This amendment gives them access to the same range and quality of health care that they could obtain in the United States. This amendment has the strong support of organizations like the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Women's Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This amendment also has the support of the Department of Defense. No surprise here, as the policy of denying women access to safe health care serves no military purpose. Still, anti-choice Members of Congress would endanger the lives of women in foreign countries where local health care facilities are inadequate--where quality care is not available. They would force women into the hands of untrained medical professionals, or into unsterilized facilities--increasing the danger and the risk to the health of these women.”