New bill would lift ban on federal coverage of abortion for U.S. servicewomen in cases of rape...

Source: The Washington Independent

Two Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would authorize federally-funded abortions for women in the military who have been impregnated as the result of rape.

The proposed legislation comes soon after the House passed the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” which if passed by the Senate — where the bill has gone nowhere since it was placed on the Senate Calendar in early May — would ban tax subsidies for private health insurance plans that offer abortion services and prohibit women from deducting abortion as a medical expense in most cases.

However, even if the “No Taxpayer Funding” bill becomes federal law, there will be exemptions: women who have been raped, become pregnant through incestuous relations or whose lives would be endangered by childbirth. These exemptions have held consistent in attempts to ban federal funding of abortion, except when it comes to women in the military.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced the Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health Act (MARCH) on June 2 and made a formal announcement Monday, which was first picked up by FoxNews.com. The bill text for House Resolution 2085 is not yet available on the Library of Congress’ website, but according to Govtrack.us, the proposed legislation would amend the United States Code to lift the Department of Defense’s ban on federal funding of abortion in the event of rape or incest and would allow military-run health care facilities to provide abortions, in most cases, to women who used private funds.

Read more: http://washingtonindependent.com/110561/new-bill-would-lift-ban-on-federal-coverage-of-abortion-for-u-s-servicewomen-in-cases-of-rape-or-incest

I was a bit skeptical of her at first, but she's building a solid record that I like.