Women's Rights

Servicewomen Need Access to Plan B: Focus on That, Elaine Donnelly

by Brandann Hill-Mann

category: Reproductive Health

Published November 20, 2009 @ 07:25AM PT

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Groups like the self-proclaimed experts at the Center for Military Readiness, headed by Elaine Donnelly (yes, that Elaine Donnelly), would have you believe that the possibility of unplanned pregnancies is a good reason to exclude women from combat roles and submarine service.  I have another idea for Ms. Donnelly and her ilk to help them focus their concerns:  Fight like hell to get Plan B included in the TRICARE Formulary (the standard list of drugs that must be stocked) and make it available in all Military Treatment Facilities (MTF).

Right now, a servicewoman cannot walk into an MTF after a sexual assault or a birth control failure and be guaranteed that she will be able to obtain Plan B. Even though it is legal and available over the counter. Even though a military dependent using an MTF can obtain it relatively easily because she is allowed to get over the counter medication there. Even though a dependent who is 17 can walk right into her doctor's office and ask for it. Unfortunately, the decision that made Plan B accessible left enough of a loophole to exclude it from the Formulary, and a victory for most civilian women created a hurdle for servicewomen.

Access to Plan B could help prevent unwanted pregnancies before they start, reducing the already rare need for emergency evacuation of a woman from a combat zone or Naval vessel. However, H.R. 2064,  The Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act, which would have guaranteed access to emergency contraception, died in Congress before it ever got off the ground. I don't see lobbyists, like the Center for Military Readiness, rallying to get it back on the table. I don't hear people like Elaine Donnelly, who claims to care about respect for women in uniform, changing hand-wringing into action and working to get women things they need, like better birth control on deployment (since TRICARE currently does not cover abortion unless the woman's life is in danger).

A woman facing an unexpected pregnancy while in uniform has few choices. Access to Plan B could give her one more. This seems like a more effective and fiscally responsible solution than hand-wringing and lobbying to keep women out of combat.

I'm just sayin'.

Update: please sign this petition asking your Congressperson to re-introduce the Compassionate Care for Women Act!

Photo credit: Yankee November on Flickr