The Military Families Support Act would give service members a one-year deferment from deployments, field training, and other extended duty assignments when they have a new child through birth, adoption, or surrogacy. The deferment applies to the person who gives birth and can be partially transferred to a spouse if both parents are in the military, and it also covers service members undergoing fertility treatments. Additionally, the bill requires military commanders to provide lactation breaks at least every three hours and designated private spaces for service members who are breastfeeding, with potential extensions of deployment deferments for up to two years for those who are still lactating. The bill would affect all active duty and reserve component service members with new or adopted children, though it allows the Secretary of Defense to waive these protections during wartime or national emergencies declared by Congress or the President.
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