I spent years serving and fighting around the world to defend my country and our freedom. Now I have to fight for freedom here at home and for security in the army in which I have served.
It’s scary to imagine how Losing constitutional protection for abortion Guaranteed under Roe v. Wade would affect women in the military. The Defense Department announced on Tuesday that Supreme Court’s decision “Consistent with federal law, does not prohibit the department from continuing with covered abortion,” insisted, “there will be no interruption of this care.” This is good to hear, but the fact is that the current level of care is completely inadequate. When it comes to reproductive health, everything from family planning to your menstrual cycle—worse than an ongoing lack of tampons—can be a struggle for women serving.
Having a child would have compromised my ability to deploy, thus excommunicating myself as a woman in the service who “uses pregnancy” to get out of hardship duties – such as going to war. .
I had my first child at the age of 18. At that time, I was dependent on my father, who had completely retired from the Air Force. Even as a teen mom, I was treated with nothing but respect throughout the process.
Baby Number 2 came to the Marine Corps during my second year in the Marine Corps at age 20, and the experience couldn’t have been more different. Even though I was married, my choice to stay pregnant after failing birth control was disrespected by my orders and peers, who ridiculed me and made me feel inadequate as a Marine. At Naval Hospital, my birth experience was procedural and traumatic. As an active member of the Marine Corps, I was respected and treated worse than when I was 18.
Baby No. 3 arrived in my fourth year in service, and, after six weeks of paid maternity leave, I was sent to a joint armed exercise training program, where I had to take less than 60 days from my breastfed newborn. was separated. ,
After those experiences, and given our financial situation, my husband and I decided that three children were enough. I sought a tubal ligation as she started a vasectomy consultation to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The doctors available to us through our military health care, however, refused to perform these procedures, considering us at ages 23 and 24 to be too young to make such decisions about our fertility. We couldn’t take care out of pocket.
So I went on birth control again. And then, I got pregnant.
I decided to have an abortion. With three kids under the age of 5, we couldn’t stand any other person in our family. Additionally, it was after 9/11, and I knew a deployment to Iraq would be imminent for our unit. Having a child would have compromised my ability to deploy, thus excommunicating myself as a woman in the service who “uses pregnancy” to get out of hardship duties – such as going to war. .
After returning from my tour, I became pregnant again, this time with an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the fetus was growing outside my womb and would not develop into a baby. So I had another miscarriage.
These two health care choices ensured that I could be the best mother I could be to my three children, and they guaranteed that I could continue to serve my country to the best of my ability. But at present, a woman in service Pay for abortion only if it threatens her life or results in rape or incest,
In addition, reproductive health is often compromised by military service. But the army fails to give a full account of the care it provides to women. Take contraception. For many women, using medical contraceptives is an unsettling experience, characterized by mood swings, weight gain and a decline in mental health, which may require close monitoring. Add the stress of military service and the lack of institutional support, and it gets worse. During my time in the Marines, which ended in 2007, my birth control options were just the pill and the pill only, and it was given to the patient, without exams or with my special needs.
It can also be a financial struggle. Under the military’s health insurance plan, reimbursement is faced for inactive service members, ex-servicemen, military spouses and dependents. contraceptives that are availabledespite Military covers the cost of Viagra for male service membersVeterans and their families.
Birth control is one way women can exercise physical autonomy and their right to decide what their family looks like, yet the military puts obstacles in the way. Access to persistent reproductive care and medication is time-sensitive, and service members may be wait-listed for appointments or may not be allowed to leave their bases for appointments due to military responsibilities or control over seniors. Officers act of their own accord.
Contraception is also often used by women to control their periods, because – big surprise – the military does little for it. support period care, It also does not provide free term products for members stationed overseas., Right now, America is facing national tampon shortage, While this is difficult for all women, women in the military face complex issues that make this shortage even more problematic.
When service members are deployed, it is their responsibility to ensure that they have all the personal supplies needed for their time away from home. I could only bring two bags, and I was forced to use some of that limited space for menstrual products. I had to create a mailing schedule for my husband to make sure he could replenish the products I needed on time.
When service members are out on duty or in the field, things can get worse. in women convoys Can be on the road for hours without stopping and not having the ability to replace a whole tampon or pad. If they run away or are caught unprepared, some women are forced to use socks, t-shirts and paper towels Trying to manage their periods.
Women in convoy can stand on the road for hours and do not have the ability to stop and change tampons or pads throughout. Some women have been forced to use socks, T-shirts and paper towels if they run away or are caught unprepared.
Sometimes the easiest way to avoid this is to use birth control to stop our periods, like Most military women would like to – So far only 7% manage to complete. Once we are deployed, we have to pray that we have chosen the right bullet, as it will be nearly impossible to replace. On base as well as in the region, most of our health care is provided by physicians and corpsmen with little expertise in reproductive care.
We need and we deserve better. Women should have free and uninterrupted access to hygiene products as well as a health program that completely covers all care related to reproductive health, including having children. Without this, and with Roe’s protections exhausted, we may return to an era in which Women are discharged from their military posts after getting pregnant.
Veterans and military members risk their lives for this country. Protecting their right to abortion and providing comprehensive health care is the least we can do in return. With all the sacrifices we have made and our dedication to our country, it is heartbreaking that this country is not dedicated to us in return.