I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6357 

To establish leave policies of the Armed Forces for a member to seek an 

abortion. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2023 

Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. CROW, Mr. 

SMITH of Washington, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. NORCROSS, 

Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

KEATING, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, 

Ms. JACOBS, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. RYAN, Mr. JACKSON of North Carolina, Mr. VASQUEZ, Mr. DELUZIO, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Ms. 

SEWELL, Mr. HORSFORD, and Mr. PANETTA) 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Reproductive 

5 Care for Servicemembers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Following the Supreme Court’s decision to 

2 eliminate the right to abortion, States across the 

3 country have moved swiftly to ban abortion access, 

4 leading to even greater barriers to care for military 

5 families. 

6 (2) Access to abortion care is essential to a per7 son’s health and central to their economic and social 

8 well-being. Bans and restrictions on abortion delay 

9 access to abortion care and therefore increase costs 

10 for members of the Armed Forces seeking care. The 

11 consequence of these delays and barriers could mean 

12 that a person is forced to carry a pregnancy against 

13 their will, which can greatly affect their bodily au14 tonomy, financial stability, and overall well-being. 

15 (3) The Armed Forces have a large presence in 

16 many States poised to ban or restrict access to abor17 tion, many of which also neighbor States that would 

18 likely ban abortion. 

19 (4) Members of the Armed Forces seeking care 

20 off-base may be limited in their ability to do so due 

21 to restrictions on leave or travel restrictions imposed 

22 by their unit. 

23 (5) Restrictions on receiving approval to take 

24 leave for abortion care interfere with a member of 

25 the Armed Forces’ health, well-being, and right to 


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1 access the care they need. The decision to terminate 

2 a pregnancy should not depend on the discretion or 

3 judgment of a military commander. 

4 (6) The Secretary of Defense has recognized 

5 that abortion is a time sensitive-procedure and ac6 cess should not be delayed for members or military 

7 families. 

8 (7) When a member of the Armed Forces de9 cides to obtain an abortion, it should be available, 

10 affordable, private, and free from punishment, re11 prisal, or judgment by the member’s chain of com12 mand. 

13 (8) Commanders or approval authorities have a 

14 duty to display objectivity, compassion, and discre15 tion when addressing all health care matters, includ16 ing reproductive health care matters, and to enforce 

17 existing policies against discrimination and retalia18 tion. 

19 (9) The harms of abortion-specific restrictions 

20 fall most heavily on people who already face barriers 

21 to accessing health care including people with low in22 comes, such as junior members, and Black, Indige23 nous, and people of color, immigrants, young people, 

24 people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+ community, 


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1 and those stationed in rural and other medically un2 derserved areas. 

3 (10) Equal access to abortion care, everywhere, 

4 is essential to social and economic participation, 

5 equality, reproductive autonomy, and the right to de6 termine a person’s own life and future. 

7 (11) The denial of leave for an abortion or any 

8 other reproductive health service violates the rights 

9 of members of the Armed Forces. Access to care for 

10 military families should not be determined by the 

11 personal beliefs of others. 

12 (12) In addition to the health and well-being 

13 implications for members of the Armed Forces and 

14 their families, the failure to address these issues will 

15 contribute to the challenges that the Armed Forces 

16 faces in attracting and retaining personnel, thereby 

17 negatively affecting military strength and readiness. 

18 SEC. 3. LEAVE FOR A MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES FOR 

19 ABORTION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned (as such 

21 term is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States 

22 Code) shall, with regards to abortion care for a member 

23 of the Armed Forces or the dependent of such a member— 

24 (1) consider such care to be time-sensitive and 

25 therefore approve leave for such abortion care; and 


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1 (2) not require the member or dependent to dis2 close to a commanding officer the time-sensitive care 

3 or procedure being received during such leave. 

4 (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR TRAVEL.—The Secretary 

5 concerned shall reimburse a member or dependent of a 

6 member for costs incurred to travel to a clinic that pro7 vides abortion care and services if timely access to abor8 tion services is not available near the member or depend9 ent’s location. 

10 (c) PRIVACY.—Health care providers of the Defense 

11 Health Agency and commanding officers shall, to the 

12 greatest extent practicable, protect the privacy of a mem13 ber who takes leave under this section, including when 

14 such member makes a request for such leave and when 

15 such member returns to duty. 

16 (d) PROHIBITION.—No member of the Armed Forces 

17 may be subject to any adverse action for requesting, tak18 ing, or granting leave under this section. 

Æ 


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