Shaheen, Collins Make Bipartisan Push to Expand Access to Contraception for Service Members

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and Susan Collins (R-ME) today sent a bipartisan letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee advocating for the inclusion of their bill, the Access to Contraception for Service Members and Dependents Act, in the Chairman’s Mark of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

In part, the Senators wrote: “This year, as in past years, the Committee will consider the inclusion of the bipartisan Access to Contraception for Service Members and Dependents Act in the NDAA. This legislation would bring health care provided to service members and their dependents through the TRICARE system in line with civilian health care by eliminating cost-sharing requirements service members and their dependents face when accessing preventative health services.”

Text of the letter can be found here.

After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, 40 percent of active-duty service women face limited or no access to reproductive care where they are stationed. This poses serious challenges for the approximately 1.6 million women of reproductive age – including service members, retirees and their families – who rely on the Military Health System to access essential health care. Shaheen leads the Access to Contraception for Servicemembers and Dependents Act and the Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act to help address these reproductive care access gaps.

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