[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1742 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1742
To establish leave policies of the Armed Forces for a member to seek an
abortion.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2025
Ms. Sherrill (for herself, Ms. Houlahan, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Crow, Ms.
Sewell, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mrs. Trahan, Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Norton, Ms.
McCollum, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Ryan, Ms. DeGette,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Carson, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms.
Scanlon, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Elfreth, Mr.
McGovern, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Horsford,
Mr. Norcross, Mr. Garcia of California, Ms. Salinas, Mr. Soto, Mr.
Davis of Illinois, Ms. Ansari, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr.
Tran, Mr. Sorensen, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Titus, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. McBride,
Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Courtney, Ms.
Crockett, Ms. Budzinski, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lois Frankel of
Florida, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Strickland, and
Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish leave policies of the Armed Forces for a member to seek an
abortion.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Reproductive Care for
Servicemembers Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Following the Supreme Court's unjust decision to
eliminate the right to abortion, States across the country have
moved swiftly to ban abortion access, leading to even greater
barriers to care for military families.
(2) Access to the full spectrum of reproductive care,
including abortion, is essential to a person's health and
central to their economic and social well-being. Bans and
restrictions on abortion delay access to abortion care and
therefore increase costs for members of the Armed Forces
seeking care. The consequence of these delays and barriers
could mean that a person is forced to carry a pregnancy against
their will, which can greatly affect their bodily autonomy,
financial stability, and overall well-being.
(3) The Armed Forces have a large presence in many States
that ban or restrict access to abortion, many of which also
neighbor States that would likely ban abortion.
(4) Members of the Armed Forces seeking care off-base may
be limited in their ability to do so due to restrictions on
leave or travel imposed by their unit.
(5) Restrictions on receiving approval to take leave for
abortion or fertility care interfere with a member of the Armed
Forces' health, well-being, and right to access the care they
need. The decision to terminate a pregnancy or build a family
should not depend on the discretion or judgment of a military
commander.
(6) Abortion and fertility care are time sensitive-
procedures and access should not be delayed for members or
military families.
(7) When a member of the Armed Forces decides to obtain
abortion or fertility care, it should be available, affordable,
private, and free from punishment, reprisal, or judgment by the
member's chain of command.
(8) Commanders or approval authorities have a duty to
display objectivity, compassion, and discretion when addressing
all health care matters, including reproductive health care
matters, and to enforce existing policies against
discrimination and retaliation.
(9) Members of the Armed Forces and their dependents often
face insurmountable barriers to accessing fertility care. These
logistical and systemic barriers include discriminatory
restrictions on insurance coverage, high out-of-pocket costs,
and limited availability of health care facilities. As a
result, many members and their dependents are unable to access
the fertility care they need to build their families. Ensuring
that members and their dependents can access this care is
critical to promoting their reproductive and bodily autonomy
and their right to decide if, when, and how they have children.
(10) The harms of abortion-specific restrictions fall most
heavily on people who already face barriers to accessing health
care including people with low incomes, such as junior enlisted
members, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color,
immigrants, young people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+
community, and those stationed overseas or in rural and other
medically underserved areas.
(11) Equal access to abortion and fertility care,
everywhere, is essential to social and economic participation,
equality, reproductive autonomy, and the right to determine a
person's own life and future.
(12) Infertility and access to fertility care implicate
core human rights--including rights to health, to sexual and
reproductive health, to make decisions about whether and when
to have children, and to equality and non-discrimination.
Denying members of the Armed Forces benefits to access
fertility care violates these rights and undermines their
reproductive and bodily autonomy.
(13) Members of the Armed Forces are exposed to job-related
risk factors that increase the likelihood they will experience
infertility. Many members are deployed in combat areas where
they may experience service-related injuries or exposure to
toxic chemicals that harm their fertility. Additionally, the
Department of Defense estimates that between 20 and 30 percent
of members have experienced sexual assault and post-traumatic
stress disorder, both of which have been linked to infertility.
(14) The denial of leave for an abortion or any other
reproductive health service violates the rights of members of
the Armed Forces. Access to care for military families should
not be determined by the personal beliefs of others.
(15) In addition to the health and well-being implications
for members of the Armed Forces and their families, the failure
to address these issues will contribute to the challenges that
the Armed Forces faces in attracting and retaining personnel,
thereby negatively affecting military strength and readiness.
SEC. 3. LEAVE FOR A MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES FOR NON-COVERED
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary concerned (as such term is defined
in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) shall, with respect to
non-covered reproductive health care (including abortion care) for a
member of the Armed Forces or the dependent of such a member--
(1) consider such care to be time-sensitive and therefore
approve leave for such non-covered reproductive health care;
and
(2) not require the member or dependent to disclose to a
commanding officer the time-sensitive care or procedure being
received during such leave.
(b) Reimbursement for Travel.--The Secretary concerned shall
reimburse a member or dependent of a member for costs incurred while
receiving non-covered reproductive health care services if timely
access to such services is not available near the member or dependent's
location. Such costs shall include--
(1) the cost of meals, including taxes and tips;
(2) the cost of lodging, including taxes, tips, and
services charges;
(3) the cost of round-trip transportation between the
member or dependent's location and the non-covered reproductive
health care service location; and
(4) if a member of the Armed Forces or a dependent of such
a member requests one or more escorts or attendants, the cost
of standard travel and transportation allowances for one or
more necessary escorts or attendants.
(c) Privacy.--Health care providers of the Defense Health Agency
and commanding officers shall, to the greatest extent practicable,
protect the privacy of a member who takes leave under this section,
including when such member makes a request for such leave and when such
member returns to duty.
(d) Prohibition.--No member of the Armed Forces may be subject to
any adverse action for requesting, taking, providing, or approving an
action authorized by this section.
(e) Non-Covered Reproductive Health Care Defined.--In this section,
the term ``non-covered reproductive health care'' includes--
(1) abortion care other than abortion care permitted under
section 1093 of title 10, United States Code; or
(2) assisted reproductive technology, including--
(A) ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval,
including any needed medications and procedures
required for retrieval, processing, and utilization of
an egg for assisted reproductive technology or
cryopreservation;
(B) sperm collection and processing for assisted
reproductive technology or cryopreservation;
(C) intrauterine insemination; and
(D) in vitro fertilization, including--
(i) in vitro fertilization with fresh
embryo transfer;
(ii) gamete intrafallopian transfer;
(iii) zygote intrafollopian transfer;
(iv) pronuclear stage tubal transfer;
(v) tubal embryo transfer; and
(vi) frozen embryo transfer.
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