Abortion Becomes Issue For Military

[kskiska]

One of President Clinton's first acts after taking office in 1993 was to lift a ban on abortions at U.S. military hospitals, giving servicewomen access to a procedure that had been available to civilians for 20 years.

Two years later, the new Republican-controlled Congress reinstituted the ban, which remains in effect today as scores of soldiers become pregnant on the battlefield.

Now, with lengthy deployments in a military that is 15 percent female and with revelations of sexual assault in the armed forces, critics say it's time for a change.

The exceptions to the abortion ban - first instituted by President Reagan in 1988 - are those to save a woman's life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Four such procedures were performed at military facilities in the 2003 fiscal year ending last September, according to the Department of Defense.

(snip)

Beth Eby, an Army warrant officer who was stationed in Baghdad from January through July, e-mailed her parents in Roanoke, Va., in May that some pregnant soldiers in her unit opted to perform abortions on themselves rather than face disciplinary measures.

Women had been warned of "harsh punishment" for becoming pregnant in violation of a no-sex rule, and the Army had even stopped handing out condoms to her unit in the apparent hope it would discourage sexual activities, Eby said in one of a series of e-mails home.

more…
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_abortion_081904,00.html

[poliguru]

1. Idiots

So they want to make sure they save the babies, hm? I'm sure my OB/GYN would condone military missions while pregnant, how about all of you? Not only does that risk the life of the baby, but a pregnant woman - even a little pregnant - often will not make the same decisions she ordinarily would in battle, because she is thinking about the welfare of the child.

If they want to avoid this problem, there's a pretty simple solution. Fuck the pill - accidentally skip a day and you're a mom. Offer Depo shots for free - and keep it confidential. The women only need it 4X a year, and it can be given by nurses. It's damn near foolproof.

But on second thought, promoting abstinence among adults living in stressful coed situations is a much better plan.