WATCH: Rep. Sherrill Introduces NDAA Amendment to Ensure Reproductive Rights for Servicewomen in the Military
Washington, D.C. — Tonight, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) introduced an amendment to the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would repeal the longstanding federal ban on abortion care in the military health system. The amendment strikes Section 1093 of Title X, which prohibits the Department of Defense from providing abortion services in most cases.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, approximately 40% of women in uniform are now stationed in states that ban or severely restrict abortion access. Even the narrow “exceptions” permitted under current law have proven unworkable in practice, putting the lives and health of servicewomen at risk.
Thousands of active-duty servicewomen seek abortion care each year, according to a 2023 RAND report. Yet under current law, military doctors and facilities are prohibited from providing that care, even when it’s medically necessary for their health — forcing women to turn to informal support systems or delay treatment.
The amendment seeks to restore full reproductive health care access for all military personnel and their families, regardless of where they are stationed.
Click here to watch Sherrill’s full remarks.
Full remarks, as delivered:
“Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
Today, across the country, women's reproductive freedoms are under attack. After the Supreme Court’s MAGA majority overturned Roe, nineteen states now outright ban or severely restrict abortion access.
My daughters now have less freedoms than I did while growing up. It is unthinkable to me that so many of our servicewomen are already serving with less rights than I had while in the Navy and being stationed in states like Texas or Florida without basic access to reproductive care.
The fact that our military treatment facilities are only allowed to provide abortions in extremely limited circumstances is unacceptable and puts the health and wellbeing of our service members and their families at risk.
The decision to get an abortion is deeply personal and should be made by a woman and her doctor, not by politicians.
Our service members expect that they will receive the best possible health care. But our military healthcare providers can’t even give them an abortion when their health is at risk.
And we know that “exceptions” to abortion bans don’t work. We see horrific stories on the news about women who were denied care that they were SUPPOSED TO receive under an exception, often ending with the mother nearly losing her life.
We have more than 100,000 active-duty service members stationed in Texas. We’ve heard stories of a young woman, who died after experiencing a tragic miscarriage at 17-weeks. After being faced with this devastating loss, her doctors delayed medically necessary and lifesaving care because of the state’s abortion ban. She died as a result of an infection she developed because that care was delayed, leaving behind a young daughter.
In Georgia, another young woman experienced a rare complication with medication abortion where her body did not expel all of the fetal tissue. When she sought out medical care, she waited 20 hours before doctors were able to operate because of the state’s abortion ban. While she waited, her infection spread and her organs began to fail. Amber’s care came too late and she died as a result of the infection leaving behind a six year old son.
We ask our servicewomen to put their lives on the line for this country. They shouldn’t have to risk their lives giving birth.
But the fact remains that a woman should never need a so-called exception to get an abortion and it shouldn’t need to be an emergency before she can get care. It should be available, a decision a woman gets to make over her own body and her own life.
My amendment would repeal the draconian ban on abortions within the military health system, allowing our servicewomen and military families to have the freedom of access and the freedom to choose.
Thank you and I yield back.”
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