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Congress: Protect Servicewomen's Reproductive Choices

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: NARAL Pro-Choice America

Why are women serving our country denied access to reproductive choices? Women in the armed services deserve the highest standard of care, and that includes access to Plan B contraceptives.

About 350,000 women currently serve in the U.S. military, making up almost 15 percent of all active-duty personnel. But federal law does little to protect their reproductive rights. Not only are servicewomen banned from accessing abortion care at military medical facilities, many can't even obtain emergency contraception at their base pharmacy.

Timely access to emergency contraception is important for military women, especially since nearly 3,000 incidents of sexual assault were reported in the military last year – an approximate 24 percent increase from 2005.

Congress has an opportunity to improve health care for women in the military with a bill sponsored by lawmakers in both parties and on both sides of the choice issue, supporting the addition of Plan B to the list of medications that must be stocked at every military health-care facility.

A vote could take place this week and the vote is going to be very close.

Take action today to defend the rights of those who defend us by telling Congress to pass the Compassionate Care for Servicewoman Act.

deadline: 5-10-2008
goal: 20,000

3,245
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As you consider the FY'08 National Defense Authorization Act, I urge you to support the Michaud amendment to make sure that women in the military have timely access to emergency contraception.

In February 2002, the Defense Department committee charged with recommending medications for the basic core formulary decided to add the emergency contraceptive Plan B to the list. Weeks later, without explanation, Bush administration political appointees quietly reversed the decision. The Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act would simply remove the decision about Plan B from the hands of political appointees and return it to the Department's expert committee by making sure that Plan B is finally added to the formulary.

As you know, emergency contraception is simply a concentrated dose of ordinary birth-control pills that can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant if taken soon after sex. It does not cause abortion; rather it prevents pregnancy.

While EC is now available over the counter at pharmacies stateside, it is not universally available at overseas facilities. Given both the restrictions on abortion care in the military and the growing number of reported sexual-assault cases among servicewomen, Congress bears the responsibility, at a minimum, to make sure that this important and time-sensitive method of contraception is available to women at all military health-care facilities.

Based on the bipartisan Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act (H.R.2064), the Michaud amendment represents one step towards improving the reproductive health of our brave servicewomen.

[Your comment here]

I urge you to join pro-choice and pro-life lawmakers in support of this important measure.

[Your Name]
[Your Address]

We signed the “Congress: Protect Servicewomen's Reproductive Choices” petition!

# 100:

9:58 am PDT, May 16, Sara Zimmerman, California

# 99:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Jordan P Davis, Missouri
How can our servicewomen be denied access to the same health facilities as other female citizens?

# 98:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Margie Laupheimer, New York

# 97:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Len Novick, Maryland

# 96:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Maria Barron, California

# 95:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Chrissy Allen, Maryland

# 94:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Thomas Girvin, Ohio

# 93:

9:57 am PDT, May 16, Carli Norman, Indiana

# 92:

9:56 am PDT, May 16, Sharon Lynn Brooks, Maryland
All women everywhere should have a choice of being on birth control if they themselves determine it is best for their body, their time in life and what they are going through. No service woman should be denied the access to birth control regardless of marital status, age, etc. They have the right to be able to determine when the time is theirs for having their own children. We should not be denying them access to birth control for any reason.

# 91:

9:56 am PDT, May 16, Nicole Siebel, Washington
It find it appalling that Plan B is not available to woman serving in the military. These woman should be given the same protection as the rest of us -- if not even more considering the rate of rapes of these woman at the hands of their own countryman/military peers. Please be compassionate to their plight and offer Plan B as an option.

# 90:

9:56 am PDT, May 16, Name not displayed, Washington D.C.

# 89:

9:56 am PDT, May 16, Concetta Grantz, California
This can't be lumped in with the abortion issue. There is no reason our military to refuse to provide these safeguards for our servicewomen in harm's way -- in more ways than one!

# 88:

9:55 am PDT, May 16, CHERYL LEWIS, Ohio

# 87:

9:55 am PDT, May 16, Jim Brown, North Carolina

# 86:

9:54 am PDT, May 16, Name not displayed, Missouri
Get real--about rape AND consentual sex.

# 85:

9:54 am PDT, May 16, Name not displayed, New Jersey

# 84:

9:54 am PDT, May 16, Misty Hay, California

# 83:

9:54 am PDT, May 16, Patricia Barnes, Arizona
what if it was your daughter?

# 82:

9:54 am PDT, May 16, Lisa Kreter, Minnesota

# 81:

9:53 am PDT, May 16, Ruth Blackwell, Virginia

# 80:

9:53 am PDT, May 16, Sharita Grant, Georgia

# 79:

9:53 am PDT, May 16, Joan Fearer, Florida

# 78:

9:53 am PDT, May 16, Paul A. Tuminaro, Illinois

# 77:

9:52 am PDT, May 16, Mitch Mayer, New York
Because I am sick and tired of zealous hypocrites determining public health policies. Religion and "so called morality"no place in public health care.

# 76:

9:52 am PDT, May 16, Julie Otto, New Jersey
Female members of our United States military need to be treated with the same Respect and Honor as our Men.

# 75:

9:52 am PDT, May 16, J. Patton, Texas

# 74:

9:52 am PDT, May 16, Andrea Boehm, Maryland

# 73:

9:52 am PDT, May 16, Rose Hoffmann, Florida

# 72:

9:51 am PDT, May 16, Lynn Scott, New Jersey
Do what is right.

# 71:

9:51 am PDT, May 16, Laura Eversole England, Colorado

# 70:

9:50 am PDT, May 16, David Haslett, California

# 69:

9:50 am PDT, May 16, Wanda S. Needleman, Texas
protect all women everywhere

# 68:

9:50 am PDT, May 16, Robin Abelson, California
Every woman must have the right to choose what to do with her body. This includes those women who are putting their own lives at stake for the country.

# 67:

9:50 am PDT, May 16, Maureen A. Schiener, New York

# 66:

9:49 am PDT, May 16, Scott Spiegelberg, Indiana

# 65:

9:49 am PDT, May 16, James Grau, California

# 64:

9:48 am PDT, May 16, Name not displayed, New Mexico

# 63:

9:48 am PDT, May 16, Martha Gonzalez, Texas

# 62:

9:47 am PDT, May 16, Stacey Barber, Oregon

# 61:

9:47 am PDT, May 16, Valerie Valentine, California
Our service women deserve the right to have birth control. God forbid if they were pregnant and something awlful happened to them and their unborn child.

# 60:

9:47 am PDT, May 16, Marilyn Mick, Hawaii

# 59:

9:45 am PDT, May 16, David Boyle, Michigan

# 58:

9:45 am PDT, May 16, Jill K-M, Florida

# 57:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Mark Bainbridge, Pennsylvania

# 56:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Anella Ralls, Texas

# 55:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Todd Jensen, Wisconsin

# 54:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Autumn Hoffman, Delaware

# 53:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Amanda Downing, Tennessee

# 52:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Cha Jahjah, California
Sister had to travel back to states and have abortion BECAUSE where they were stationed had no BC available, was alot of drama that could have been prevented

# 51:

9:44 am PDT, May 16, Barry Orton, Nevada

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Congress: Protect Servicewomen's Reproductive Choices

This petition has been closed.