ABC News is just one outlet talking about the outrage over Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III's decision to make pregnancy a court-martial offense in his sweet little corner of the Iraq war. From what I can figure 7.6% of the soldiers under his command are women. That's 1,682 soldiers for whom he also does not provide abortions or emergency birth control. Nope.
"Anyone who leaves this fight early because they made a personal choice
that changed their medical status -- or contributes to doing that to
another -- is not in keeping with a key element of our ethos, 'I will
always place the mission first,' or three of our seven core values:
loyalty, duty and selfless service," he continued. "And I believe there
should be negative consequences for making that personal choice."
There are plenty more prohibitions beyond pregnancy: no sex with Iraqis (make war, not love) and no carnal knowledge of non-Americans who aren't "members of coalition forces."
And just to make women feel fully included, this article reports that "the Army already encourages its female soldiers to take medication to stop their menstrual cycle."
So what if a soldier is pregnant against her will - perhaps she was assaulted, perhaps a condom broke - whatever. Can she gain a perfectly legal abortion in order to stay at her post? Seems not. Military hospitals refuse to provide abortions, "forcing women to potentially dangerous providers of
such services"
Here's something else that is annoying. Of the four Democratic senators who wrote this General asking him to recind this order, none of them are men.
I don't know even to begin with this? What if a woman had consensual sex just because she wanted to??? I dont know if I am more upset with the General because the military is not based on empathy nor respect for individuals so he actually is within the logical reasoning of his profession or with our governing body which is instructed and sole reason for existence is to serve thier constituency.
Posted by: Mia | 26 December 2009 at 13:28