WASHINGTON: US Def­ence Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the military on Thursday to make it easier for service members to access reproductive health care including abortions, as a growing number of states enact restrictions on the procedure.

The US Supreme Court in June struck down the decades-old constitutional right to abortion across the country, returning the decision on whether to allow it to individual states, more than a dozen of which have instituted bans.

That makes it more difficult for members of the military stationed in such states to obtain abortions, requiring some to take leave and travel to areas where the procedure is legal.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2022