Speaking from the U.S. House floor on Tuesday, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) suggested moving 128 U.S. military bases out of GOP pro-life states while addressing new legislation that would require the Department of Defense to pay for travel expenses to get an abortion.
“There’s a part of me that says we have 128 bases and installations in these red states, in these states that ban abortion. Maybe we should just move these bases,” Speier said. “Now, that’s highly unlikely because we’ve invested so much, but it just begs the question about what are we really all about if we’re going to treat these servicewomen so poorly.”
Speier made the remarks while promoting new legislation called the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act, which would force the Department of Defense to “pay any travel expenses associated with an abortion and ensure servicemembers are able to take leave for their care.”
Speier also argued that abortion bans make the U.S. military’s recruitment and retention struggles “worse.”
“My office has been inundated with outreach from former and current servicemembers who are anxious and despondent about being stationed in what they are referring to as ‘forced pregnancy States,’” Speier claimed.
Speier’s remarks come just days after Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) railed against a newly proposed Republican abortion bill from the U.S. Senate floor, calling it “literally a call to arms.”
“This is an outright attack on women in this country,” Hirono said. “That is how I see it. That is how more and more women — and those who support our right to make decisions about our own bodies — that is how we see it.”
“Madame president, I yield the floor but clearly this is a — literally call to arms in our country,” Hirono added.
Earlier this month, an interim final rule submitted to the Federal Register revealed that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will soon begin offering abortions to pregnant veterans and VA beneficiaries for the first time ever, even in states where abortion is banned.
