Ryan, an Army veteran who served two combat tours in Iraq, slammed House GOP for using National Defense Authorization Act to strip access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, from women service members
Today’s attack on women service members comes just one week after far-right Republicans voted to effectively ban access to abortions for women veterans
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Pat Ryan continued his fight to protect the reproductive freedom of women service members, voting against yet another extreme bill that would rip away abortion rights from female soldiers. For the second year in a row, House Republicans added amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the country’s largest defense funding bill, that would strip away access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, from women service members. Last week, 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 of the House Republicans’ anti-women, anti-freedom, anti-national security bills.
“Our service members put their lives on the line every day to protect our fundamental American freedoms. Today, Republicans betrayed women in uniform across our nation by ripping away their reproductive freedom. When I say the far-right will stop at nothing to ban abortion, this is exactly what I’m talking about,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “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. As long as far-right extremists continue their campaign to rip away reproductive rights, we’ll continue our fight to protect them.”
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.
For over 60 years, the NDAA was passed by Congress with bipartisan support. Following House Republicans’ introduction of measures to limit the reproductive freedom of women service members in last year’s NDAA, the FY2024 NDAA was passed largely along party lines. During debate of last year’s NDAA, Congressman Ryan delivered a speech on the House floor condemning Republicans’ repeated politicization of the military and service members.
When Senator Tommy Tuberville blocked the confirmations of over 300 military leaders to protest the reproductive rights of women service members, Congressman Ryan introduced a resolution to demand that Tuberville end his dangerous holds that were compromising military readiness. Tuberville relented and lifted his holds soon after.
Congressman Pat Ryan is the first West Point graduate to represent the Academy in Congress and is an Army veteran of two combat tours in Iraq. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Ryan has spearheaded legislation that expands benefits and improves quality of life for veterans, servicemembers, and military families, including introducing the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act of 2023, the Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act, and the Never Forgotten Korean War POW Act. Ryan has also championed legislation that protects reproductive freedom for women veterans and service members, including by cosponsoring the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act and the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act.
Ryan is also a member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus and introduced the landmark Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act that would safeguard women’s right to access abortion medication and reaffirm the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s authority to declare medications as safe and effective.
