FACT SHEET
Health Care Equity for Women Serving in
the Peace Corps
APRIL 2013
Support the Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013
The National Partnership for Women & Families believes that no Peace Corps volunteer
should have her life endangered because she cannot access a medical procedure that is safe
and legal in the United States. We urge Congress to end the ban on abortion coverage for
Peace Corps volunteers and trainees by passing Senator Frank R. Lautenberg’s Peace Corps
Equity Act of 2013 (S. 813). This bill would clarify that Peace Corps volunteers and trainees
who survive rape or incest, or whose life would be endangered by continuing a pregnancy,
have coverage for abortion services. This is a matter of fairness and equity, as it would
ensure that their coverage is consistent with coverage for other women who get their health
care from the federal government.
The National Partnership supports insurance
coverage for abortion services in all circumstances.
The Peace Corps Equity Act is an important step
toward that goal. It will ensure that women
serving in the Peace Corps have coverage for
abortion services as they work to foster peace and
development throughout the world.
Denying Health Care to Women
in the Peace Corps
The Peace Corps Equity Act of
2013 undoes a callous inequity by
providing Peace Corps volunteers
with coverage for abortion
services in cases of rape, incest
and life endangerment. It is the
least we can do for these
dedicated volunteers who are
giving so much.
Peace Corps volunteers build relationships with
people around the world, promote a positive image
of the United States and, most importantly, provide men and women abroad the skills to
strengthen the health and economic stability of their communities.1 These dedicated
volunteers often serve in remote and dangerous locations overseas, sometimes risking their
own health and safety.
About 60 percent of the 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers and trainees are women.2 Many
female Peace Corps volunteers have reported that they felt unsafe and at risk of sexual
violence during their service.3 Yet Congress has maintained a ban on abortion coverage for
Peace Corps volunteers. Women serving our country should never have to face the tragedy
of sexual assault, but if they do, they should have coverage for the health care and support
services they need.
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Since Fiscal Year 1979, Congress has used the annual appropriations process to prohibit
the Peace Corps from providing volunteers and trainees with insurance coverage for
abortion services, even in cases of rape, incest and life endangerment. That benefit is
extended to other federal employees, including Peace Corps employees who work with the
volunteers.4 The Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013 would ensure that Peace Corps volunteers
and trainees have coverage for abortion services in these cases, undoing this callous and
inequitable restriction on women’s health.
1 Peace Corps. (2012, July 16). History. Retrieved from http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/history/ .
2 Peace Corps. (2012, July 16). Fast Facts. Retrieved from http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/fastfacts/
3 Peace Corps Office of Inspector General. (2012, September). Final Report: Review of the Peace Corps Implementation of guidelines Related to Volunteer Victims of Rape and
Sexual Assault. Retrieved from
http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/Final_Report_Review_of_the_Peace_Corps_Implementation_of_Guidelines_Related_to_Volunteer_Victims_of_Rape_and_Sexual_
Assault.pdf
4 Blanchfield, Luisa. (2013, February 12). Congressional Research Service. Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law and Policy. Retrieved
from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41360.pdf.
The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and
policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family. More information is available at www.NationalPartnership.org.
© 2013 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES | FACT SHEET | HEALTH CARE EQUITY FOR WOMEN SERVNG IN THE PEACE CORPS
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