On May 10, both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees approved their respective defense authorization bills (H.R. 4205/S. 2481). The House committee approved the measure by a vote of 56-1, while the Senate committee approved the bill by voice vote.
During House consideration, the committee defeated, 20-31, an amendment by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) that would have repealed the current restriction on privately funded abortions for military personnel and their dependents serving overseas. Under current law, DoD covers abortions in domestic and international military facilities only in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the pregnant woman is endangered. In 1996, the abortion restriction was written into permanent law, with an exception to save the life of the pregnant woman only. During last year’s reauthorization process, rape and incest were added to the list of exceptions, but they were not codified.
As a result, the bill considered by the House committee did not include the rape and incest exceptions that were enacted last year. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) offered an amendment that would have added the rape and incest exceptions, but it was defeated, 26-29.
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) did not offer an amendment that would have codified current Navy policy, which prohibits women from serving on submarines. The House is expected to consider H.R. 4205 during the week of May 15.
