Military abortions are safe, legal, and rare
The old mantra of the Democrat Party on the topic of abortion was “safe, legal, and rare.” In the last two decades that’s changed. Just in the last five years or so it went from that reasonable sounding stance to abortions up to the moment of birth (or in the case of former Democrat Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia, even after birth). Abortions for any reason or no reason at all. It’s akin to having a mole removed, they tell us.
SecDef Austin recently reiterated a commitment to allowing DoD personnel ready access to abortion, for some reason. Meanwhile, the DoD has been keeping records on abortions performed by military clinic in accordance with the Hyde Amendment. That law places restrictions on when federal monies may be used for abortions.
Here’s the report from Military Times on the actual frequency of abortions within DoD;
Military treatment facilities have completed fewer than 100 abortions in the past five calendar years, all of which were permitted by federal law under strict circumstances, according to Defense Department data included in a report to Congress in May.
The numbers, compiled from calendar years 2016 to 2021 and obtained by Military Times, are limited to procedures that aborted what would have otherwise resulted in a “live birth,” according to the department’s definition.
This only includes pregnancies resulting from rape and incest, or pregnancies that would have killed the mother. Per federal regulations, these are the only types of abortions that are covered for service members, as the Hyde Amendment prevents using federal funding in all but these specific circumstances.
Little in the department’s policy is expected to change in the wake of Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, which overturned 1973?s Roe v. Wade decision and removed federal protections for abortion access.
While Pentagon officials have provided information on abortions to Congress for years, lawmakers started asking for more specific data last year. Now, the numbers provide a starting point for understanding how commonly abortions are performed in the military and how broadly new state laws could diminish access, but they only tell a small part of the story.
“Health care providers will continue to follow existing departmental policy, and the leadership of military medical treatment facilities will implement measures to ensure continued access to care,” Gil Cisneros, defense under secretary for personnel and readiness, said in a memo released Tuesday.
By service, doctors performed 20 procedures in the Air Force between 2016 and 2021, 35 in the Army, six in the Marine Corps and 30 in the Navy.
The report does not provide any context on the availability of abortions at treatment facilities across the services. It also does not account for patients who are referred for procedures at off-base private clinics, which can occur if a military treatment facility doesn’t employ staff or keep equipment to perform the procedure on their own.
On top of that, the report is only a snapshot of the number of procedures that service members, and their dependents, undergo every year with respect to ending pregnancies. The compiled data doesn’t include, for example, laparoscopic surgeries performed to end ectopic pregnancies, which result in inevitable miscarriage, on top of being life-threatening to the mother.
The data also doesn’t account for multiple procedures used to remove dead tissue after miscarriages, which are medically indistinct from voluntary abortions.
The Pentagon has said, first in a message from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and for a second time in Cisneros’ Tuesday memo, that it is reviewing its current policies and will issue guidance as necessary to ensure access to legal abortions continues.
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work"
NEVER, EVER FORGET. Do they day, we STILL wonder what happened.
Langley Air Force Base, 2011.
“After Mistaken Abortion, Chesapeake Couple Finds Way”
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/health/article_d8f06cf2-9b27-56c2-9109-ba67d35482a8.html
I”n the past, Heather Fergurson was vigilant about going to all her prenatal visits, which typically begin around the eighth week of pregnancy.”
“With her second son, though, she waited until she was 20 weeks along to set foot in a doctor’s office. She also made sure her that husband, Charles, was with her at all her appointments, even in the exam room.”
“The reason for the change: a pregnancy that was accidently aborted four years ago.”
“On April 18, 2011, Heather went for a 12-week prenatal visit at Langley Air Force Base Hospital.”
“Health care providers couldn’t find a heartbeat and thought that instead of a fetus there was a mass of cancerous cells growing in her uterus. After spending hours in the hospital, Heather had a procedure to remove the mass.”
“Two days later, hospital officials told her the tissue a surgeon had removed was actually a healthy fetus.”
“The Chesapeake couple sued the federal government in February 2013 alleging malpractice. The suit was settled out of court that summer.”
“In a recent follow-up interview, the couple did not disclose the award they received, except that it was less than the $1.7 million they asked for but still substantial.”
“It was never about the money,” Charles said. “You can’t put a money value on a baby. Ten million dollars wouldn’t make up for what they took from us.”
“Heather had two miscarriages before getting pregnant in 2011. At her 12-week visit to the hospital, a certified nurse midwife gave her an ultrasound and couldn’t hear a heartbeat or see a fetus. An ob-gyn confirmed the midwife’s findings with another ultrasound.”
“What they saw was a mass of tissue, noted in the records as “a cystic mass” with “no identifiable fetus.”
“According to the lawsuit, they told her they thought she had a molar pregnancy – a rare mass that forms inside the womb at the beginning of a pregnancy instead of a fetus.”
“While most molar pregnancy masses are benign, they are removed because in some cases they morph into a fast-growing cancer that can spread.
The doctor recommended more blood work and a more comprehensive ultrasound.”
“Charles took their son to get something to eat while Heather had more blood drawn and went to the radiation department. The tech told her she needed to return to the obstetrician-gynecologist to find out the results of the third ultrasound.”
“Before they could see the obstetrician, a woman working in administration said that a surgeon would be able to do a suction dilation and curettage – typically done after a miscarriage to remove fetal tissue from the womb, or when there’s an unwanted mass that needs to be excised.”
“Heather replied that she had been told to go over the ultrasound results with the ob-gyn.”
“The administrator said that the surgeon would review the ultrasound and other tests before the procedure, but that she needed to go to his office because arrangements had been made for the D&C.”
“At the surgeon’s office, Heather and Charles asked what the third ultrasound from radiology showed.”
“According to the couple, the doctor told them he had reviewed her tests, and her medical history of miscarriages and the blood work indicated she had a molar pregnancy, which he said needed to be removed.”
“The D&C took 40 minutes. Heather was told she’d be informed of the pathology findings in a few days.”
“Two days later, she and her husband were called back to the hospital, where officials revealed the pathology report findings: A healthy fetus that was 10.7 weeks old.”
“The third ultrasound in radiology had confirmed the existence of a live fetus, with a heart rate of 162 beats per minute.”
“Air Force spokesman Alton Dunham relayed questions about the case and settlement to Langley hospital officials. They declined to comment except to say that the surgeon, Dr. James Reed, no longer works at the hospital.”
“According to board of medicine websites, Reed has an active license in North Carolina and Georgia. The North Carolina Board of Medicine lists malpractice payments that have been made on behalf of licensed doctors and lists one for Reed that matches the date of the procedure. The board determined that no public action was warranted.”
“Attempts to reach the surgeon at a women’s clinic in Georgia were unsuccessful.”
A fine example of what you get when the gov’t bureaucracy provides your so-called “free health care.” Another example is the British National Health Service. Their doctors can’t be sued either.
I would say this woman paid a pretty heavy price for her “health care.”
Reason for a second opinion. Remember that some military doctors are there because they can’t get sued, too.
I used to try to only see military docs over O-4… the O-3s and down needed to prove themselves. So many of the younger ones were just paying off their med school obligations and more or less phoning in their jobs.
For the last 40 years A physician who is an O-3 has not completed a Residency. In the AF they are considered GMOs (General Medical Officers)
A lot of Flight Surgeons are O-3s and for the most part their patients are healthy so the chance of their skills atrophying is considerable.
“Vasectomies: A “Snip” in the Right Direction”
7 minute tongue in cheek video reference vasectomies.
Don’t know if DoD performs vasectomies on active duty/retired/discharged Military troops:
They used to one of our O-3 flight docs was doing it as OJT and tried to drum up business so he could get certified
OJT???
😆😅🤣😂
“On the Johnson Training”
How about giving us a Preemptive Level IV Spew Alert before posting shit like that? You’ll be receiving a bill for dry cleaning in the mail.
Well, the VA will perform a pneumatic penile implant on an 80-year-old WWII veteran, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t provide vasectomies. It is an office procedure for a urologist that takes all of about fifteen minutes. I might add that the only reason for the octogenarian was his ED and desire to get laid (he was a widower and wanted a girlfriend).
“I might add that the only reason for the octogenarian was his ED and desire to get laid (he was a widower and wanted a girlfriend).”
rgr769: Had to read your response a couple of times…VA paid for a penile implant, i.e. our tax dollars went to THAT??
😆😅🤣😂 Am really trying to laugh, but it is more of a sarc laugh…in reality, shaking my head from disbelief…
Thank You and USAFRetired for the response.
I guess if the VA pays for penile implant, then that means they may be able to pay for Breast Implants for a 80 year old female Veteran…??? You Know…Equal Rights? Equal Treatment?
*sarc* 😉😎
Old Boy wanted to do pushups over Saggy Maggie. And if Saggy Maggie got her some implants she wouldn’t be Saggy anymore. *snicker*
I’ll see myself out. gabn/rtr/hbtd 😜
KoB:
😆😅🤣😂😆😅🤣😂😆😅🤣😂😆😅🤣😂
That…Was….SUPERB!!!!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Hoo-Aahhh…THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
gabn/hbtd/rtr
After he received his implant, the octogenarian then struck up affair with a 50-year-old married nurse at the Veterans Home. Later, she dumped him and he starting talking about what a “loose woman” she was. This led to a lawsuit against the Vet Home that lasted for about seven years and ended up in a state supreme court.
But who can really define what a female is? Are they biologists?
How many Air Force Bases still have hospitals. A lot only have clinics or super clinics.
Before the pandemic it was anounced that our local Base clinic was going to stop seeing retirees and dependents. Only active-duty personnel. The pandemic put that plan on hold
There is no ER ( for over a decade) they contract with the local civilian hospital for Ambulance service to include during flight ops.
“Before the pandemic it was anounced that
our local Base clinic was going to stop seeing retirees and dependents. Only active-duty personnel..”
Yep. It happened to the ninja family….🙄
I won’t judge someone for murdering their baby, but trust me, you WILL be judged, eventually if not sooner.
Abort the aborters.
I also tolerate them… from far, far way.
Waiting on the local news to report on the damage at Pregnancy Center(s).
I support post birth abortions…for murderers, rapists, and especially pedophiles
Agreed with all the above, add tyrants and money-changers?