WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Pat Ryan (D, NY-18) announced on Friday that he has voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which he said would strip away access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, from women service members.
Last week, Ryan said that House Republicans also used the funding bill for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare to women veterans, effectively banning access to abortions and distribution of abortion information at VA health centers. Ryan voted against both bills.
“Today, Republicans betrayed women in uniform across our nation by ripping away their reproductive freedom,” Congressman Ryan said. “The cruel irony is not lost on me that these are the very same politicians who, just a few days ago, were celebrating the 76th anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act and talking about their support for our women service members. Today’s vote is life-threatening for our women service members, compromises our military readiness and ability to recruit, and shows the world that the GOP cares more about banning abortion than deterring our adversaries.”
House Republicans added an amendment to the FY2025 NDAA that would bar the Department of Defense (DoD) from reimbursing expenses, including travel costs, incurred by women service members while accessing reproductive healthcare, including abortion care. DoD healthcare facilities are already barred from providing abortion care for service members and military families and TriCare, the health insurance coverage for military members, is prohibited from covering abortion care, forcing women service members and military families to seek abortion care from external community providers and pay out-of-pocket.
Following the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, women service members are increasingly stationed in states with abortion bans, forcing them to seek reproductive healthcare out of state. Travel and time-off restrictions, along with the cost of travel, present significant barriers for women service members to access abortion care.
