Pregnant Soldiers Face Threat of Court-Martial

An American Army General issued a policy last month that would allow female soldiers and their sexual partners to be court-marshialed in the event of a pregnancy. Major General Anthony Cucolo, a commander in Iraq, told the BBC that the policy was intended to protect the safety of his troops. "I've got a mission to do, I'm given a finite number of soldiers with which to do it and I need every one of them. So I'm going to take every measure I can to keep them all strong, fit and with me for the twelve months we are in the combat zone," he said.

Since the announcement, General Cucolo has faced considerable criticism from veterans, women's rights groups, and lawmakers. The Christian Science Monitor reported that on Tuesday the Army received a letter from Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), who wrote, "Although Major General Cucolo stated today that a pregnant soldier would not necessarily be punished by court-martial under this policy, we believe the threat of criminal sanctions in the case of pregnancy goes far beyond what is needed to maintain good order and discipline. This policy could encourage female soldiers to delay seeking critical medical care with potentially serious consequences for mother and child."
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=12139

So as some of you know, I'm a military mom, currently my son is serving in Iraq. My daughter, who is now working as a corrections officer in a state penitentiary, (a topic that deserves it's own thread, trust me)spent nearly 9 years in the army. So I hear a lot of shit.

My daughter seems to hold women to an equal sexual standard, she thinks irresponsible sexual behavior is just that, no matter who is doing it and knows rotten stories from either side of the gender isle. When I was explaining this 'law' to her, she didn't quite understand what I was saying, she thought it was about a law already on the books regarding fraternizing. Once she 'got' it, she didn't believe it, not quite, as she saw it singling out pregnancy itself as a clear violation of civil rights. (Sorry kid, that's the world we live in)

All that aside, MY opinion is this. Fine. Make it a court martial offense with the caveat that ANY US soldier that indulges in behavior that may result in someone's pregnancy during a time of war be subject to the same standard. This includes prostitutes. Make it retroactive. Perhaps all those abandoned half Vietnamese half American children may take satiation knowing that their irresponsible sperm donors are getting a little payback. I saw a little blond girl among pictures of Iraqi children my son has. I asked him, what is she-- A left over? He didn't know.

No more Playboy bunny entertainment, no more Professional football cheerleaders, no more Hooters gals. Can't be tempting the troops into indiscretions now, can we? Why, that's practically entrapment.

So the bush administration forced women in the armed forces who got pregnant to carry to term, (even when raped, thank you very much). In other words, no abortions allowed for military women under old georgie boy. Now there's a threat of court martial for pregnancy? :crazy: What the hell is going on...?

Sorry, still trying to wrap my brain around this profound insanity. Damned if we do...damned if we don't. :eyes:

I was watching Anderson Cooper 2-3 weeks ago and there was a JAG officer on talking about how this was unconstitutional. I don't remember the reasons exactly -- privacy, I believe? He was also saying that, even though the general assured the male soldiers would get a court martial, too, that punishment would be disproportionately doled out to the women. A man could claim he was not the father and how could the military prove it unless they waited months to do a paternity test? Plus, the women could not be forced to give the men's names. Or a few women might claim rape to get out of the court martial. Also, it was punishing the women who could not have sex with anyone for fear of pregnancy, but the men could have sex with civilian women.

I know the general claimed that this was, in part, a way to keep women from getting pregnant on purpose to get out of deployment. My husband was in the military for 13 years, just got out last year, and he even says that most of the women try very hard to fit in and not be treated differently. Most don't want to get pregnant to get out of deployment because it hurts how all women are treated in the military. Of course, there are always those few that will do it on purpose and thus make it more difficult for all women in the military.

Back in 2004, I was living on a military base and the female soldier next door to me found out she was getting deployed. Suddenly she was pregnant. Did she do it on purpose? I hate to say it, but I think so. Her husband was a civilian and stayed home with their other kid -- who was probably 3 and mainly sat on my front steps alone, or went to another neighbor who had kids, while the dad disappeared to god-only-knows-where.

My husband avoided a second tour in Iraq by agreeing to stay in Korea for a couple extra years -- he AIP-ed (what that means, I don't know) and we are still there now. A lot of soldiers seemed to be doing that.

Women aren't near the majority in the military, and of the ones in the military, getting pregnant "on purpose" isn't an incredibly high number, although I'm sure it happens.

What pissed me off was the blatant ignoring of male behavior. Or, rather ignoring the fact of certain behavior encouraged in males. How many kids have been left behind in various countries? To be fair, my daughter's fiancee says that he knows of a few soldiers who've tried to get their kids conceived in foreign countries that have run into difficulty from the American end, since those kids would presumably covered by health insurance and whatnot. "Too many benefits here" he said. That's pretty fucked up.

...is rather blinding. it's like they're suggesting that a woman can become pregnant alone. the court martial proposition deemed punishment of women for something that men are acitive participates in (sex, conception, etc.).***


:crazy:

***of course this is in terms of the military, and for the sake of this specific discussion. i know that women can become pregnant outside of the military, w/the aid of a sperm bank.

Good.
Asshole.


"The United States military announced late last month that it was reversing its new policy that allowed female soldiers and their sexual partners in Iraq to be court-martialed in the event of a pregnancy. The revised policy went into effect January 1st and according to a spokesman for the United States military in Iraq "does not include a pregnancy provision," reported CNN.

The original policy prohibited soldiers in Iraq from "becoming nondeployable for reasons within the control of the soldier," which included "becoming pregnant or impregnating a soldier...resulting in the redeployment of the pregnant soldier."

Major General Anthony Cucolo, the US commander in Iraq who instituted the rule, told the BBC that the policy was intended to protect the safety of his troops. "I've got a mission to do, I'm given a finite number of soldiers with which to do it and I need every one of them. So I'm going to take every measure I can to keep them all strong, fit and with me for the twelve months we are in the combat zone," he said.

General Cucolo faced considerable criticism from veterans, women's rights groups, and lawmakers after the policy was announced. Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) wrote a letter to the Army that stated, "Although Major General Cucolo stated today that a pregnant soldier would not necessarily be punished by court-martial under this policy, we believe the threat of criminal sanctions in the case of pregnancy goes far beyond what is needed to maintain good order and discipline. This policy could encourage female soldiers to delay seeking critical medical care with potentially serious consequences for mother and child." Christian Science Monitor."
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=12148

Media Resources: CNN 12/25/09; Christian Science Monitor 12/22/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 12/23/09; BBC 12/20/09