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Aspen Ruhlin is the community engagement coordinator at the Mabel Wadsworth Center.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s recent vote in support of a defense bill goes against values he has claimed to hold and is deeply concerning to us at Mabel Wadsworth Center. While he focused his support of the bill on the basic funding it includes to ensure service members are paid and housed, amendments to the bill would block gender-affirming care coverage and travel reimbursement for abortion care for service members.
During this time of relentless, politically motivated attacks on abortion care and transgender people, Golden’s confidence that the bill with these amendments is unlikely to pass in the Senate is an unacceptable argument to justify his vote. The lives and well-being of servicemembers, including those who need abortion care and gender-affirming care, are not bargaining chips. These are examples of essential health care and fundamental human rights that cannot be compromised.
While there are still restrictions on abortion care coverage by military health insurance due to the Hyde Amendment, travel reimbursement for abortion care is currently covered to help mitigate the harm caused by the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year. As of writing this piece, 40 percent of active-duty female military members are stationed in parts of the United States with near or total abortion bans. Additionally, there are members of the military with partners or spouses who can become pregnant and may need abortions.
The cost of traveling for care can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on how far someone needs to travel and how long they have to stay for care. While everyone deserves access to the health care they need within their own communities, during these unprecedented times it is critical to support efforts that make it possible for individuals to seek care elsewhere.
In addition to supporting the right to abortion over the years, Golden has expressed support for the LGBTQ+ community, including trans people specifically. For this reason, we were particularly alarmed that the defense bill also included an amendment that would block insurance coverage of gender-affirming care.
We have been providing gender-affirming hormone therapy at Mabel Wadsworth Center for almost a decade, and we can’t overstate how critical and life-saving this care is. We are grateful to live in Maine where legislators and advocates have worked to further protect and expand the rights of transgender people, but it is a dangerous time for LGBTQ+ people across the country. This year we have seen more than a dozen states restrict access to gender-affirming care.
For decades, anti-abortion politicians have relentlessly pushed their oppressive agenda. As a result, we witnessed lawmakers making compromises that stripped away access to abortion across the United States, which preceded the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We are now seeing a similar approach to undo the progress made to protect LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms. We cannot continue to allow this to happen.
We believe the people of the Second Congressional District expect Golden to vote in alignment with the values he has claimed to have and to stand up for justice. In the future, we hope to see him represent what Maine values and stand up for bodily autonomy for all of us.
