In the controversial defense bill the House passed last week, travel allowances for soldiers needing access to abortion and other reproductive services were tossed out.
But the bill retained a provision requiring that the Pentagon study testosterone levels among troops in the Special Operations forces.
Though the difference in how the two issues were treated in the bill was unplanned — the abortion travel allowance was stripped out on the House floor by amendment while the testosterone study was added by amendment in committee — it raises a clear discrepancy regarding equal treatment of reproductive health issues between women and men.
Low testosterone, or “low T,” has been implicated in a number of health problems among men. Though lower sex drive and erectile dysfunction are among the most well-known symptoms of low testosterone, it can also cause fatigue and depression.
The divergent treatment of abortion access and the testosterone study was not surprising to the leader of one veterans advocacy group, Allison Jaslow, chief executive officer of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
“What went down in the House of Representatives at the 11th hour last week was reprehensible, turned an otherwise bipartisan bill into an overtly partisan one, and it’s no secret that care for women and LGBTQ people continue to be targeted,” Jaslow said in a statement to HuffPost, “so it’s unsurprising to me that new care for male servicemembers would go untouched.”
“I wish the double standard in this legislation was shocking, but it’s not.”
– Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women
Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, said it was another example of how men’s and women’s care is treated differently.
“I wish the double standard in this legislation was shocking, but it’s not,” she said in a statement.
“Let’s be clear that these cuts are not about saving taxpayer money. This is blatant misogyny and transphobia that set the military back instead of creating an inclusive culture for troops rooted in the freedom they defend every day.”
The abortion provision, which passed on an almost party-line 221-to-213 vote, would roll back current Pentagon policy authorizing travel allowances for service members to travel to access abortion and other reproductive health services not available near their posting, allowing soldiers to avoid having to spend their own money if they are in a state where abortion access has been restricted.
The amendment was one of a raft of social issue votes sought by hard-line House Republicans during the bill’s consideration. Others included amendments on access to gender transition services, funds for diversity efforts in the services and continued aid for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the provision in Section 751 of the bill calls for a five-year study of whether Special Ops members have higher testosterone levels than civilians when they join the elite units, the effects of training and deployments on those levels, the assistance provided to soldiers with low levels of the hormone and the quality of testing for testosterone as well as the effects of low testosterone on readiness and long-term health.
A quicker one-year interim report would look at the “appropriateness” of a pilot program to provide testosterone replacement therapy and whether to provide “natural remedies,” such as meal and exercise plans, to prevent testosterone loss. Men make up the vast majority of Special Ops troops, by one estimate more than 90%.
The study provision was added at an Armed Services Committee meeting on June 21 at the behest of a House Democrat who ended up voting against the final bill after the abortion access change and other controversial riders were added on the floor.
“I remain deeply disappointed that when the bill left our committee, the Republican leadership discarded that hard work, compromise, and bipartisanship by allowing its extremist members to then amend the legislation with numerous divisive measures,” Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) told HuffPost in a statement.
“After what the Majority did to the bill, I could no longer support their amended version of the legislation,” he said.
But Panetta stood behind the need for the study, noting Special Ops troops face training and other requirements that can lead to lower testosterone levels, which, in turn, can lead to symptoms like fatigue, depression, sleep apnea and lower red blood cell counts.
Panetta’s amendment was co-sponsored by three Republicans and one fellow Democrat and added to the bill as part of a larger group of noncontroversial amendments by a simple voice vote.
“Whether it’s in providing comprehensive reproductive care or better understanding the impact service and training has on their health, we have a responsibility to serve those who serve us,” Panetta said.
“Whether it’s in providing comprehensive reproductive care or better understanding the impact service and training has on their health, we have a responsibility to serve those who serve us.”
– Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.)
Though the health consequences of low testosterone are real, the pearl-clutching on the topic has become something of a cause célèbre for some right-wing pundits. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson once devoted an entire episode of one of his Fox Nation “Tucker Carlson Originals” shows to it, the episode with the famous trailer depicting “testicle tanning.”
“Chemical and pharmaceutical companies are poisoning us, but you’re not allowed to notice this is happening,” Tucker said in the special.
“No one in Washington seems interested at all,” he said. “It’s a joke to them.”
Worries about testosterone levels have led to a market for often fraudulent supplements, and the Food and Drug Administration has said supplements should be restricted to men whose lack of testosterone was due to specific causes.
“Aging men can also experience signs and symptoms such as decreases in energy level and problems with sexual function, but it is uncertain whether these are caused by the lowered testosterone levels or due to normal aging,” the FDA said.