Republicans target female veterans in latest appropriations bill
It’s a shame that Republicans would rather sacrifice the health of women in uniform than honor these women’s service to the country.
Happy Memorial Day! This day is dedicated to honoring the men and women who died in service to America.
“From the battlefields of the American Revolution to the deserts of Kuwait, women have been serving in the military in one form or another for more than 200 years. They have had to overcome decades of obstacles to get to where they are today: serving in greater numbers, in combat roles and in leadership positions all around the world.”1
“Although women were not always permitted to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces, many still found ways to serve their nation.”2
“Some women found ways to join the fight for independence. Margaret Corbin, for example, disguised herself as a man and traveled with her husband to the front lines of the Battle of Fort Washington, where she helped him load his cannon. When her husband was shot by enemy fire, Corbin carried on fighting, even after being shot three times. She was given a military pension in acknowledgment of her efforts, and years after her death was reburied at West Point with full military honors.” 3
“During the Civil War, nearly 20,000 women lent their skills and efforts in everything from growing crops to feed Union troops to cooking in Army camps. Other tasks included sewing, laundering uniforms and blankets and organizing donations through door-to-door fundraising campaigns.”4 “Notably, it was during the Civil War that women began to serve as nurses on a much larger and more official scale. Approximately 3,000 women served as nurses for the Union Army during the war.”5
“Meanwhile, some women even marched on the battlefields. Historians estimate that about 1,000 women disguised themselves as men and fought” on the battlefields during the Civil War.6

“At the onset of the United States’ entry into World War I in April 1917, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) – formally established in 1901 – had only officially been in existence for less than 20 years, and only had 403 nurses in its active-duty ranks. By June 1918, just over a year later, there were more than 3,000 American nurses deployed to British-operated hospitals in France. These nurses often worked in dangerous conditions near the front lines, caring for service members and civilians alike, and ensuring the health and safety of Allied troops.”7
WWI is “notable because it was the first time women – who did not yet have the right to vote – were allowed to openly serve in the U.S. military. With large numbers of American men being sent to war overseas, the Armed Forces – and the U.S. Navy in particular – needed stateside replacements for the roles that were left behind. After finding a loophole in a naval act that would allow women to serve in non-commissioned officer and non-combat roles, the Navy enlisted its first “yeomanettes.” Around 12,000 women served in the rank of yeoman, mostly working clerical duties, as well as telephone and radio operators and translators.”8
“Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Signal Corps enlisted women to work as telephone and switchboard operators. These women – nicknamed the “Hello Girls” – often worked very close to the front lines in France. They would not be recognized for their high-pressure work or their status as veterans until decades later, in 1979.”9
“WWII created an unprecedented need for service members. As more than 16 million Americans stepped up to serve on the front lines – the majority of those being men – the U.S. military was left with many non-combat roles that needed to be filled. So, the women of the United States stepped up too, and for the first time in history, all branches of the military enlisted women in their ranks.”10
“In total, nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform during World War II. These women took on non-combat roles in order to free up more men to fight. They continued to work clerical jobs as they did during World War I, but they also drove vehicles, repaired airplanes, worked in laboratories and cryptology, served as radio and telephone operators, rigged parachutes, test-flew planes and even trained their male counterparts in air combat tactics.”11 “In total, 432 women were killed in the line of service during World War II and 88 were taken as POWs.”12
Second Lt. Ruth M. Gardiner “ was killed in a combat theater, and she was one of 17 flight nurses who died during World War II. She was killed in an aircraft crash on the way to evacuate patients in Alaska. Gardiner General Hospital in Chicago is named for her.”13 “Some people think women were ‘just’ nurses during World War II. But as Ruth shows, there were WACs (Army), WAVES (Navy) and SPARs (Coast Guard). They played important roles and in some ways may not have always been given their rightful place in history.”14
Women “risked their lives and were integral to American success in the war, and through it all, they faced challenges in navigating their new roles and overcoming discrimination in a male-dominated arena. After the war, many of these women would return home, hoping to continue their military career, only to find themselves pushed out of their rolesso that the men returning from war could have them. Some women would struggle for decades to obtain veteran status or benefits for their service during WWII. But because of their perseverance and dedication to service throughout the war, they helped pave the way for women in the military who would come after them.”15
First Lt. Sharon Lane “was the only American military woman killed by enemy action in Vietnam, and the only American nurse who died as a direct result of hostile fire. She was working at the 312th Evacuation Hospital in Chu Lai — where she worked in the Vietnamese ward five 12-hour days per week and spent off-duty time caring for American soldiers — when the facility was struck by Viet Cong rockets.”16 “Lane was buried with full military honors in her hometown of Canton, Ohio, and later the nursing school she attended there, Aultman Hospital, erected a bronze statue of her. and she posthumously received awards including a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with a ‘V’ for valor.”17
“The ‘V’ for valor is in recognition of Sharon’s above-and-beyond courageous action.Not too many people have that honor. It’s heartening to see the military and her community celebrate what a special person she was.”18
U.S. Army Specialist Lori Piestewa “was the first Native American woman in history to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military. She was also the first American woman in the U.S. military to be killed in the Iraq War.”19 “Piestewa was assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company stationed on Fort Bliss, which was responsible for transporting water and supplies among providing other assistance to combat units. She died in Iraq after an ambush on her Humvee.”20 “Piestewa was awarded the Purple Heart and Prisoner of War Medal.”21
First Lt. Ashley White “was among the first group of women soldiers in combat as part of a Cultural Support Team (CST), which were created in 2010 to help make connections with local Afghan citizens. She was the first member of a CST to be killed in action. At the time of her death in 2011, women were officially banned from combat but could be attached to Special Operations units as part of a CST.”22 “White was killed during combat operations in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, and she posthumously received the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Combat Action Badge. Later, in the 2015 New York Times bestseller ‘Ashley’s War,’ author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon chronicled her story and that of CSTs.”23
Cpl. Jessica Ellis “was a medic serving her second tour in Iraq, and she was supporting a team of combat engineers in Baghdad when her vehicle was struck by an IED and she was killed. Ellis was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.”24 “Medics have to go back and forth and leave areas of protection to carry out their missions, and that’s what Jessica was doing when she was killed.”25
Unfortunately, female service members still face obstacles to equality today. One of those obstacles is Republicans’ opposition to reproductive health care.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and rigid abortion bans took effect in large swaths of the country, the federal government stepped in to ensure that female service members who are stationed in states that ban abortions can still receive abortions in cases of rape or when their pregnancies seriously threaten their health. This enraged Republicans.
“In the first year of the policy, VA physicians performed fewer than 100 abortions. However, Republican lawmakers targeted the practice in early drafts of last year’s budget bills and appear poised to repeat the strategy again this appropriations cycle.”26
Now, Republicans are again targeting female service members— this time, specifically targeting female service members’ health.
Republican appropriators advanced a budget bill last week “that includes more than $360 billion for Veterans Affairs operations but also limits on abortion access.”27 The bill includes “language prohibiting VA from conducting abortions in cases other than rape and involving the life of the mother,” which would prohibit veterans from receiving necessary abortions in cases where their health is seriously threatened.28
“Pregnant people can face a range of conditions that threaten their lives or that seriously threaten their health. Emergency abortion care may be [the] necessary stabilizing treatment in those instances.”29 For example, some patients suffer from placenta accreta, “an uncommon but serious pregnancy complication in which the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall and can lead to extreme bleeding after birth,” which can lead to septic shock and can require limb amputation.30 Pregnancy can also be complicated by acute limb ischemia (ALI) and embolisms that can cause a person’s limb(s) to turn black and require amputation.3132 Other “pregnancy complications such as placental abruption, bleeding from placenta previa, preeclampsia or eclampsia, chorioamnionitis, and cardiac or renal conditions may be so severe that an abortion is the only measure to preserve a patient’s health or save their life.”33
Yet, Republicans want to prevent pregnant service members from receiving health preserving medical care, relegating female service members to unequal, second class members of the military.
Republicans’ policy suggests that the United States “should just turn our backs on one in five of every — every person in United States military, let alone their family members.”34 That’s the suggestion Republicans are enshrining in policy. “[T]hat just would be an egregious violation of the covenant that we make — the military makes with the people that sign up and volunteer. Remember this: They’re volunteers. There’s not conscription. There’s no draft. People volunteer for this. And when they volunteer for that duty, they have every right to expect that they’re going to get the healthcare they need.”35
A healthy force is a ready force. Republicans’ radical opposition to abortion impairs national security. They are “willing to deprive female members of the military — 20 percent of the force — from necessary healthcare. That… is a violation of national security.”36
As National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has explained, making sure that female service members are treated equally and have equal access to the healthcare they need “matters because it says ‘we’re invested in you cause you are being willing to invest in us.’ You’re investing your life, your family’s livelihood with us, we owe you that back in return… We want to keep the people that we get and we want to make sure that they can continue to serve. So it can have an extremely, extremely significant impact on our recruiting and our retention, not to mention it’s just the right darn thing to do for people that raise their hand and agree to serve in the military.”37 It’s a shame that Republicans would rather sacrifice the health of women in uniform than honor these women’s service to the country.
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
DeSimone, D. (2023, February 28). Over 200 years of service: The history of women in the U.S. military. United Service Organizations. https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Pepitone, J. (2019, May 27). Memorial day: 5 courageous women who died in service. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/memorial-day-5-courageous-women-who-died-service-n1010456
Shane, L. (2024, May 22). Republicans back abortion ban in $360b VA budget draft for next year. Military Times. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/05/21/republicans-back-abortion-ban-in-360b-va-budget-draft-for-next-year/
Shane, L. (2024, May 22). Republicans back abortion ban in $360b VA budget draft for next year. Military Times. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/05/21/republicans-back-abortion-ban-in-360b-va-budget-draft-for-next-year/
Shane, L. (2024, May 22). Republicans back abortion ban in $360b VA budget draft for next year. Military Times. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/05/21/republicans-back-abortion-ban-in-360b-va-budget-draft-for-next-year/
Idaho v. United States and moyle v. united states: The Supreme Court will decide if states can block pregnant people from getting emergency abortion care. National Women’s Law Center. (2024, March 4). https://nwlc.org/resource/idaho-v-united-states-and-moyle-v-united-states-the-supreme-court-will-decide-if-states-can-block-pregnant-people-from-getting-emergency-abortion-care/
Medaris, A. (2020, February 21). A mom had both her legs amputated after developing the same pregnancy complication as Kim Kardashian. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/kim-kardashian-placenta-accreta-mom-had-feet-amputated-almost-died-2020-2
Govsyeyev , N., Malgor , R. D., Hoffman, C., Sturman, E., Siada, S., Al-Musawi , M., Malgor, E. A., Jacobs, D. L., & Nehler, M. (2020, November). A systematic review of diagnosis and treatment of acute limb ischemia during pregnancy and postpartum period. Journal of vascular surgery. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32442613/
Simmons-Duffin, S. (2023, November 15). 20 women are now suing Texas, saying state abortion laws endangered them. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/11/15/1213188342/20-women-sue-texas-over-abortion-laws
Increasing access to abortion. ACOG. (n.d.). https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2020/12/increasing-access-to-abortion
Christopher, T. (2023, October 7). Biden NSC spox loses it on reporter asking why military doesn’t just cave in to Republican senator on abortion policy. Mediaite. https://www.mediaite.com/news/biden-nsc-spox-loses-it-on-reporter-asking-why-military-doesnt-just-cave-in-to-republican-senator-on-abortion-policy/
Christopher, T. (2023, October 7). Biden NSC spox loses it on reporter asking why military doesn’t just cave in to Republican senator on abortion policy. Mediaite. https://www.mediaite.com/news/biden-nsc-spox-loses-it-on-reporter-asking-why-military-doesnt-just-cave-in-to-republican-senator-on-abortion-policy/
Christopher, T. (2023, October 7). Biden NSC spox loses it on reporter asking why military doesn’t just cave in to Republican senator on abortion policy. Mediaite. https://www.mediaite.com/news/biden-nsc-spox-loses-it-on-reporter-asking-why-military-doesnt-just-cave-in-to-republican-senator-on-abortion-policy/
Schorr, I. (2023, July 17). John Kirby defends the military’s support for abortion travel as “sacred obligation”: “it’s the right darn thing to do.” Mediaite. https://www.mediaite.com/politics/john-kirby-defends-the-militarys-support-for-abortion-travel-as-sacred-obligation-its-the-right-darn-thing-to-do/
The Republican Party just needs to die. They seriously need to lose the next 3 election cycles. People need to wake up and realize the hot mess they have created for this country. They are against the rule of law, democracy, freedom and privacy. We need more democratic participation from other parties that cannot be branded as Republican. I’ll be voting a blue ticket even though there’s very few Democrats and third party candidates in my state.
I will be sending a copy of this article to our state and our US representatives. I hope everyone who reads it will do the same.