{"id":80123,"date":"2023-10-23T23:59:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T23:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/23\/restrictive-abortion-laws-threaten-our-national-security\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:13:39","slug":"restrictive-abortion-laws-threaten-our-national-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/2023\/10\/23\/restrictive-abortion-laws-threaten-our-national-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Restrictive abortion laws threaten our national security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we raised our right hands and put on the uniform, a shared love of country brought people from all backgrounds together. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we fought alongside service members from every race, gender, and political affiliation \u2014 and we had each other\u2019s backs. We still do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our armed forces are the standard bearer for American values and principles around the world, and those who serve reflect the nation\u2019s rich diversity of thought, background, and experiences. This diversity makes our military the world\u2019s strongest and most lethal fighting force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, some politicians have not only begun to disparage our service members and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/09\/07\/partisan-attacks-on-military-hurt-force-readiness-top-senator-warns\/\" target=\"_blank\">undermine our top military leaders<\/a>, but they\u2019ve also set their crosshairs on some of the same service members we fought beside and to whom we all owe a tremendous debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling last year in Dobbs v. Jackson, overturning Roe v. Wade, thousands of women in service were stripped of access to abortion care. In the year since, 14 states have made abortion illegal, <a href=\"https:\/\/reproductiverights.org\/maps\/abortion-laws-by-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">according to the Center for Reproductive rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s talk about how these restrictive laws threaten our national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When people decide to serve, they take the same oath we took \u2014 the same oath millions of others have taken over our nation\u2019s history. You raise your right hand, go to boot camp, get trained on your job, and go where the nation needs you. You don\u2019t have a choice about where you go to serve \u2014 that\u2019s part of the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3246268\/department-of-defense-releases-annual-demographics-report-upward-trend-in-numbe\/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20women%20made%20up,and%20reserves%20at%20171%2C000%20members.\" target=\"_blank\">230,000 women and 14,000 LGBTQ+ people serve in our armed forces<\/a> today, meaning thousands of active duty service members stationed in states with restrictive laws are feeling the brunt of extreme politicians\u2019 efforts to limit their freedoms. The last thing we want to see is accomplished service members separating from service early after being assigned to a duty station where they and their dependents cannot access the healthcare they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, then-Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gil Cisneros testified to Congress that, \u201csome servicemembers may choose to leave the military altogether because they may be stationed in states with restrictive reproductive health laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retention isn\u2019t the only place our armed forces will suffer because of these extreme laws restricting service members\u2019 freedoms \u2014 recruitment will suffer too. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/americans-views-on-whether-and-in-what-circumstances-abortion-should-be-legal\/\" target=\"_blank\">Roughly three-quarters<\/a> of young people believe abortion should be legal. How can we expect recruitment numbers to increase if prospective service members fear being stationed in an area where they\u2019ll be treated like second-class citizens?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Personnel is the most important aspect of readiness. As recruitment and retention continue to fall, so does the military\u2019s ability to meet the force requirements necessary to respond to any threat. Service members should be able to focus solely on their mission, not be forced to worry about whether they or their loved ones at home can access the health care they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thankfully, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and the Department of Defense acted in the best interest of our national security by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2023\/02\/16\/troops-can-take-three-weeks-off-to-travel-for-abortions-ivf-treatment\/\" target=\"_blank\">protecting access to health care<\/a> \u2014 including reproductive care \u2014 for service members and their families, regardless of where they\u2019re stationed. This decision wasn\u2019t driven by politics or the loudest voice but by a conscious and strategic effort to ensure our military maintains its standing as the world\u2019s strongest and most lethal fighting force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, Sen. Tommy Tuberville has responded by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/video\/2023\/04\/03\/senator-holding-up-military-promotions-over-abortion-policy-speaks\/\" target=\"_blank\">blocking DoD nominations<\/a> for his own political gain. Not to mention, a small faction in the House of Representatives pushed through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/congress\/2023\/07\/13\/house-dems-bail-on-defense-bill-as-gop-votes-to-repeal-abortion-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">a defense authorization bill that would reverse the policy<\/a>, putting military pay raises on the line and using our service members as pawns to advance their own agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So let\u2019s be clear, Sen. Tuberville is actively holding our military hostage and undermining service members who have sacrificed their lives to protect him and his constituents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He must stand down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We learned during our service that our values and national security go hand-in-hand. Our military leaders should always do what\u2019s best for our men and women who serve. We have no doubt that they will continue insulating service members from restrictive state laws just like they do with service members stationed overseas in countries with laws inconsistent with our values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soldiers, airmen, guardians, sailors, and Marines put on the uniform because this country is worth fighting for. Safeguarding our freedoms, keeping our loved ones safe, and providing a future for our children and grandchildren transcends politics and the vitriol that dominates our nation\u2019s discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s why we chose to serve. That\u2019s why countless women in service chose to serve. We can\u2019t afford to lose them. Our national security depends on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But more than that, the health, well-being, and freedoms of our service members and their families depend on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., is an Army veteran and a member of the House Foreign Affairs and House Intelligence Committees. Allison Jaslow is the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an opinion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This article is an Op-Ed and as such, the opinions expressed are those of the author.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, or submit an editorial of your own, please email <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinions@militarytimes.com\"><i>opinions@militarytimes.com<\/i><\/a><i> for Military Times or our services sites.<\/i> <i>Please email <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinion@defensenews.com\"><i>opinion@defensenews.com<\/i><\/a><i> to reach <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/\"><i>Defense News<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/*%20Please%20email%20it%20to%C2%A0opinions%40militarytimes.com%C2%A0for%20Military%20Times%20or%20Army,%20Navy,%20Air%20Force%20or%20Marine%20Corps%20Times.%E2%80%A8Please%20email%C2%A0opinion@defensenews.com%20to%20reach%20defense%20news%2C%20c4isrnet%20or%20federal%20times.%20%2A%20https\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/\"><i>C4ISRNet <\/i><\/a><i>or <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/\"><i>Federal Times<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i> <i>Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.militarytimes.com\/join\/5b9\/sign-up-opinion\"><i>Subscribe to get our Commentary &amp; Opinion newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> once a week.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laws that restrict abortion access within the U.S. could impact military recruiting and retention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[78,100,23,25,14],"tags":[8502,8503],"coauthors":[6903,6905],"class_list":["post-80123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-newsletters","category-opinion","tag-commentary","tag-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KJK4O43ZJRD2ROBJVXBDLUDDYI","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/2023\/10\/23\/restrictive-abortion-laws-threaten-our-national-security\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Restrictive abortion laws threaten our national security - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Laws that restrict abortion access within the U.S. could impact military recruiting and retention.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Restrictive abortion laws threaten our national security\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Laws that restrict abortion access within the U.S. could impact military recruiting and retention.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/2023\/10\/23\/restrictive-abortion-laws-threaten-our-national-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-23T23:59:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T16:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rep. 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