Borders & Abortion: Using Federal Land within Abortion Restrictive States

The United States Supreme Court, in its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturned the long-standing doctrine in Roe v. Wade that protected abortion rights in this country. The direct result is individual states making decisions on the circumstances, if any, under which abortion can be provided. At the time of this submission, 26 states in the union have passed legislation to either prohibit or severely restrict abortion access. In many cases these states are geographically clustered together, making travel to a reproductive refugee state more challenging for the women seeking abortive care. One proposed solution is to rely on the pockets of federal land within these states, specifically military bases and tribal lands that have medical facilities. This presentation will address the barriers that prevent civilians from receiving reproductive care on the federal land of a military facility including the Hyde amendment, the Defense Support of Civil Authorities doctrine, the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act, Title X, extraterritorial application of state law, and the legal limits on state powers. In addition, this presentation will address the ethical obligations of military healthcare providers to the surrounding civilian population. The presentation will conclude with a policy recommendation to utilize military healthcare providers on federal land to ensure the full range of reproductive care for women.