January 2010 will see the "pregnancy" ban lifted from men and women serving in Iraq.
These women (and the men who impregnate them) currently face the threat of anything from an official reprimand all the way up to a court martial if they do not adhere to the ban placed by Major General Anthony Cucolo.
The ban has faced enormous criticism by soldiers currently enlisted and by women's groups who believed the ban to be discriminatory and unrealistic. Several state senators send written letters of protestation to the US Army Secretary.
Major General Anthony Cucolo has said that he could not afford to lose valuable female soldiers due to pregnancy (and some who supported the ban believe these women deliberately get pregnant so they can avoid active duty) but has said he never would have court martialled them if they had become pregnant. Four female soldiers in Iraq did become pregnant in the short time since the ban was instituted (Nov 09) and they, and the three male soldiers involved were officially reprimanded. (The Maury Povich in me is wondering if one of the males impregnated two of the women or the forth man was non-military).
The ban is expected to be lifted early in the new year.
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What is your opinion on female soldiers getting pregnant while on active duty? Is it an excuse to be sent home or is it a fact of life that the military has to accept?
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Military life is not civilian life. I actually don't think that the general's ban on pregnancy was discriminatory since he also punished the men involved. He said his point was to get his soldiers -- both male and female -- to think before they acted. We all know that contraception can be 99%-plus effective if used correctly. Unless it goes against a soldier's religious beliefs, it seems like birth control pills or condoms is all that's called for here. He wasn't telling them not to have sex. He was just telling them to practice birth control until their tours of duty ended.
I think it's ironic that a general who doesn't want to lose his female soldiers is so attacked for being discriminatory. Maybe I'm missing something huge here. But the military tells its soldiers how to dress, how to act, how to behave in various situations and how to represent our country. It seemed surprising to me, but not necessarily discriminatory.
December 28, 2009 - 9:07amThis Comment
I'm glad the ban will be lifted-- it seems so ridiculous to me to punish a person for procreating. I hear the general's argument but it still does not make the ban right.
I don't think they should be treated like criminals for it and no a pregnant woman should not remain on active duty.
December 28, 2009 - 4:44amThis Comment