Huckleberries Online

Iraq Forces Face Jail For Pregnancy

Posted by DFO

Dec. 18, 2009 3:37 p.m. • 7 comments

The Army general of U.S. forces in Northern Iraq has banned pregnancy among military personnel in his command, NBC News reported on Friday. Anyone who becomes pregnant or impregnates another servicemember, including married couples assigned to the same unit, could face a court-martial and jail time, according to an order issued by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo. The order, which went into effect on Nov. 4, was first reported by the military publication Stars and Stripes/NBC News. More here. H/T: Dan of the County

Question: Is this fair?

Seven comments on this post so far. Add yours!

hhuseland on December 18 at 3:44 p.m.
Is it even legal under the mcmj? I was under the impression that marriage was condoned by the military, as well as pregnancy.
florined on December 18 at 3:45 p.m.
In concept, I’d say it’s fair as long as the rules enforce that “impregnates” part as well as the “becomes pregnant” part.. Were I in charge, I might question the blanket (no pun intended) approach, since there are some folks on active duty whose pregnancy wouldn’t affect their job performance. The penalties seem a little harsh, but I’m not in the best position to judge how big a problem this has become.
hhuseland on December 18 at 3:52 p.m.
Make that”UCMJ,” which stands for uniform code of military justice. That is the constitution that people in the service have to follow. It replaced the “Articles of War,” many years ago.
LarrySpencer on December 18 at 4:33 p.m.
Well, I have to wonder. Is this a ban on sex? If it isnt, what about if commonly used measures fail? Does it become a crime then? If the woman belives abortion is murder, is it lawful to punish her for having having the baby?

I suspect some serious chalenges lay await on this one.
Fixer on December 18 at 4:48 p.m.
During my time in the military, I knew of several women who had gotten pregnant to avoid deployment altogether. There was no effort to prosecute them under the UCMJ since getting pregnant wasn’t illegal.

I suppose the women could be charged with “failure to obey a lawful order” (for defying the General’s orders) but there would be a great deal of debate as to whether his order WAS lawful.
Soaf on December 18 at 4:51 p.m.
Spencer, the military doesn’t live in “Larry World”. Anyone wants to challenge the directive can resign or risk court martial. It’s that simple.
hhuseland on December 18 at 6:58 p.m.
I’m not debating for or against the personalities that have commented on this thread. I have, however, served in the military. Case law will undoubtedly show huge numbers of military personnel getting pregnant and still being allowed to serve. I suspect that the pregnant woman would be sent home for duty at a non-combat duty station. The husband, or other perpetrator, will get off scott free. The Colonel has lost his mind and will be vilified for his unusual order.

When the federal government in their infinite wisdom, allowed women to serve in combat situations they opened this can of worms. Now the military has to deal with unreasonable situations and perhaps the Colonel can be excused just this once for losing it, that is providing he backs off real fast.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.