Victory: Military Insurance to Cover Abortion in Cases of Rape

January 3, 2013

President Obama has signed the Department of Defense authorization bill into law, which means that, finally, members of the military will be able to use their health insurance to cover abortions in instances of rape and incest. Today, we celebrate this long-overdue reversal of a policy that hurt rape survivors in the United States military.

PRCH physicians worked with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and our colleague organizations to attach the Shaheen Amendment—which allows the coverage for abortion in cases of rape and incest—to the Defense Department bill.

On December 18, we had great reason to hope that the Shaheen Amendment would become law: the conference committee from the House and Senate charged with the Defense authorization bill decided to let the amendment remain in the legislation. In a press statement, PRCH board chair Douglas Laube, MD, MEd, who served in the U.S. Navy, commented: "Since 1981, female soldiers who have been raped have been denied insurance coverage if they become pregnant and decide to have an abortion. These women are forced to pay in full for that care—a financial burden added to the trauma of sexual assault."

Thank you to the current class of Leadership Training Academy Fellows and the many other PRCH physicians and supporters who have helped PRCH advocate for the Shaheen Amendment and servicewomen's well-being.