DOD to protect privacy of pregnant service members
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Sen. Mazie Hirono announced today, Feb. 18 that she applauds the Department of Defense’s move to provide guidance on servicemembers access to reproductive care.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, the DOD released its statement on securing access to reproductive care for pregnant service members.
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According to the DOD, “the policy on command notification of pregnancy provides Service members the time and flexibility to make private health care decisions while accounting for the responsibility placed on commanders to meet operational requirements and protect the health and safety of those in their care.”
The policy provides a standardization for timeframes for servicemembers to let their commanding officers know about pregnancies.
“This policy standardizes and extends the timeframe for Service members to inform their commanders about a pregnancy, generally allowing Service members until up to 20 weeks of pregnancy to notify their commanders of their pregnancy status, with limited exceptions to account for specific military duties, occupational health hazards and medical conditions,” said the DOD.
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Sen. Hirono, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the DOD has been working on ensuring that servicemembers continue to have access to reproductive healthcare and to their right to privacy since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.
“The guidance released by DOD will help protect servicemembers’ right to access reproductive care, regardless of their rank or where they are stationed,” said Senator Hirono. “When the far-right majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe [v. Wade] and eliminated the constitutional right to abortion care, servicemembers in states across the country found themselves suddenly unable to access basic reproductive care.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin provided a memorandum soon after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in an attempt to provide clarity for servicemembers as many are on bases in conservative states that have placed near total bans on women’s reproductive health.
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Austin stated that “service members and their families should have time to make private health care decisions.”
“I appreciate Secretary Austin using his authority to address this crisis by taking steps to help reduce barriers to reproductive care for the more than 200,000 women serving in our Armed Forces access. I’ll continue fighting to defend every person’s fundamental right to make decisions about their own body and their future, and I hope the Biden Administration will continue doing everything in its power to protect abortion access,” added Sen. Hirono.
In the wake of women’s rights being stripped in many states across the U.S., Sen. Hirono co-authored several bills meant to protect women’s rights.
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Those include the Secure Access for Essential Reproductive (SAFER) Health Act, the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act and the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 202.
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