November 5, 2012 – In 2010 Ibis embarked on a body of work focused on the reproductive health needs and experiences of women in the US military. Servicewomen have higher rates of unintended pregnancy compared to their civilian counterparts, and federal policy prohibiting access to and public funding for abortion services at military facilities, with no funding for pregnancies due to rape, is more restrictive than policies affecting civilian federal employees and other recipients of publicly funded health insurance.
We have worked on a number of projects addressing these issues, including the first-ever study of deployed women's experiences seeking abortion care overseas; a systematic literature review on unintended pregnancy, contraception use, and abortion in the military; and a survey with military women on their experiences accessing and using contraception and other reproductive health services during deployment. We are pleased to share two new briefs that summarize this research on the sexual and reproductive health of women in the US military:
- Issue brief 1: Contraception, unintended pregnancy, and abortion
- Issue brief 2: Insurance coverage of sexual and reproductive health care
We plan to release two additional briefs in this series in the coming months. We hope that this body of work sheds light on the barriers that US military women and dependents face to obtaining sexual and reproductive health services at home and overseas, as well as highlights opportunities for policy change.
For more information about our work, click here.