Since 1979, the Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bills have prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion services at overseas military hospitals in almost all cases. But currently, servicewomen are banned from using their private funds to pay for abortion care at military medical facilities overseas.
More than 200,000 women - active service members, spouses and dependents of military personnel - live on military bases overseas and rely on military hospitals for their health care. The ban on privately funded abortion care discriminates against women and their families who have volunteered to serve their country by prohibiting them from exercising their legally protected right to choose simply because they are stationed overseas.
