A policy of discrimination: reproductive health care in the military.

In 2002, the wife of a young U.S. Navy sailor was given the news that her fetus had no brain, a birth defect known as anencephaly (Wilson, 2010). This condition is not compatible with life, and, at 16 weeks of gestation, the couple decided not to continue the pregnancy. In fiscal 1977, over 25,000 abortions were performed in military facilities (Boonstra, 2010; Burrelli, 2008). However, in 2002 federal law prohibited termination of the pregnancy at the military health care facility where they were stationed. In addition, federal funds could not be used for the abortion (10 USC 1093, 1996). This young family faced a $3,000 medical bill for the abortion procedure at a local civilian clinic, or the pain of going through 5 months of carrying a fetus that would die. Service members make less than civilians in similar occupations and depend on the military for their health coverage (Wilson, 2010). The additional $3,000 was beyond the financial capability of the couple. With the help of family and friends, they were able to overcome the financial burden and obtain the abortion. Had the family been stationed overseas, finding a civilian abortion provider may not have been possible. While stationed overseas in the Philippines from 1989 to 1991, one of the authors (J.T.J.) witnessed firsthand the burden of restrictive abortion policy. Active duty women electing to terminate an unwanted pregnancy were forced to make a difficult choice: Take emergency leave and travel to Hawaii for a legal abortion (at their own expense) or obtain an illegal abortion under unsafe conditions locally. Not surprisingly, the burden of