SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. armed forces medical benefits don’t cover abortion costs unless a mother’s life is at risk, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said an abortion for a Navy sailor’s wife, of Everett, Wash., wasn’t covered even after two doctors diagnosed the fetus with a fatal birth defect.
In a 3-0 ruling, the judges acknowledged the ruling was “callous and unfeeling,” and said they were not judging the “wisdom, fairness or logic” of congressional legislation that limited abortions under military medical plans.