By Vania Leveille, Washington Legislative Office & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 3:01pm
Enactment of last year's National Defense Authorization Act brought about a long overdue and welcome change on the military health care front by allowing military women and dependents to receive insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape or incest. But the work to ensure that servicewomen's reproductive health needs are met is not nearly complete.
That's why we applaud the introduction in the Senate of the Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health (MARCH) for Military Women Act. Sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and 14 other stalwart supporters of our military women and families, the bill would allow servicewomen to use their own private funds to access abortion care on military treatment facilities. Earlier in the month, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) introduced a House companion bill, cosponsored by 40 representatives.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 12:41pm
When John F. Kennedy signed the executive order creating the Peace Corps over fifty years ago, he said, "Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary, and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs." It's true that life in the Peace Corps isn't easy, but unfortunately, our government is failing to live up to the rest of this promise when it comes to providing for the reproductive health needs of Peace Corps volunteers, who selflessly give their time and energy to help communities in developing countries.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 4:49pm
Rebekah Havrilla, a former Army sergeant, received no justice after she was raped by a fellow soldier while serving in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, Rebekah testified before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee at a hearing on military sexual assault, recounting her traumatic and downright appalling time serving in a command culture that tolerated sexual assault and harassment. Her subsequent experience with the military justice system re-traumatized her after she decided to come forward and report her rapist.
This Memorial Day, we can show the women serving in the military how grateful we are for their brave service by giving them the same opportunities to serve, and the same recognition of their service, as men. This month, the Army and the Marine Corps began to implement changes to the so-called combat exclusion rule, an outdated policy that bars women from being assigned to ground combat units, irrespective of their talents and abilities. Under modifications to the combat exclusion rule announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) earlier this year, women will now be permitted to serve in certain previously male-only positions at the battalion level and in positions that are located with, and support, combat units.
By Tiseme Zegeye, ACLU Women's Rights Project & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 9:53am
The combat exclusion rule ignores the reality of modern warfare. Women are already serving in combat, and at present, 139 women have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 12:41pm
For as long as she can remember, my Aunt Robyn always knew she wanted to join the Army. She would follow anyone who happened to be wearing a uniform. In 1981, Robyn finally got to put on her own uniform when she enlisted at the age of 18, straight out of high school, and became a Private E-1.
Although the Army had integrated basic training for men and women some years prior to Robyn joining up, she always felt that commanders were scrutinizing the women to see what they could handle when compared to their male counterparts. To prove themselves, she and her fellow females had to work harder.
Imagine coming home to find that you are being evicted from your apartment. But it’s not because you haven’t paid rent; it’s because you are a victim of domestic violence. That’s exactly what happened to ACLU client Tanica Lewis.
In 2006, Tanica and her two daughters were kicked out of their apartment, after her ex-boyfriend violated a protective order and broke into Tanica’s apartment by smashing her windows and kicking in the door. A few days later, Tanica was told she had to vacate the premises because she failed to properly supervise her “guest.” Tanica and her daughters were forced to move into another apartment, but at a higher rent and farther from Tanica’s job.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 3:57pm
Good news came out of the Senate last week, when the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a "clean" D.C. spending bill that does not impose restrictions prohibiting the District from using its own local funds to provide abortion care for low-income women. Adding to this welcomed news is the fact that, despite concerns, no amendments were offered to impose such a restriction during consideration of the bill.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 11:11am
It’s time for politicians to quit playing games with the reproductive health care of women around the world by making sure that the Global Gag Rule, a dangerous, anti-democratic restriction on overseas family planning aid, remains a thing of the past. Thankfully, Representative Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the Global Democracy Promotion Act (H.R. 2639) this week, which protects U.S. foreign aid from politicized restrictions by ensuring that international organizations are not banned from getting U.S. aid based on the type of health or medical services, counseling or referral they offer.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 9:53am
Yesterday, in its recommendation to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) confirmed what we have long known: contraception is preventive care.
This is a huge step forward for women’s health, as the IOM’s recommendation is a significant move toward ensuring that contraception is provided without co-pays or other out-of-pocket expenses in new insurance plans under the health reform law.
