Court Martial for Getting Pregnant in Iraq

Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo's rule effected November 4, prohibits any soldier from becoming pregnant or impregnating a fellow soldier. The move is aimed to prevent the loss of troops to reasons that are avoidable. Although, pregnancy which is a result of sexual assault in not punishable.

Cucolo said, "I need every soldier I've got, especially since we are facing a drawdown of forces during our mission," Cucolo wrote. "Anyone who leaves this fight earlier than the expected 12-month deployment creates a burden on their teammates. 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 am the only individual who passes judgment on these cases. I decide every case based on the unique facts of each soldier's situation . I am responsible and accountable for the fighting ability of this outfit. I am going to do everything I can to keep my combat power -- and in the Army, combat power is the individual soldier. To this end, I made an existing policy stricter. I wanted to encourage my soldiers to think before they acted, and understand their behavior and actions have consequences -- all of their behavior. The rule is just a small part of a general policy on behavior and actions, and is lawful." The rule states - "Becoming nondeployable for reasons within the control of the soldier, which include becoming pregnant, or impregnating a soldier ... resulting in the redeployment of the pregnant soldier."

Eugene Fidell teaches military law at Yale University. He said, "While the rules may seem unusual to some, they are not out of line with how the military regulates behavior to a much stricter degree than the general public is used to. Questions of personal autonomy play out differently in the military. If push came to shove and there was prosecution, I think the rule would be upheld as a reasonable balance of the competing interests."

This directive is applicable to all military and civilians serving under Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo in northern Iraq. Areas that come under this are Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra. There are around 22,000 soldiers under his command in these areas. Out of these, 1,682 are women. There has been 4 cases since the rule came into force. None of the 8 involved have been court martialed, but they have received written reprimands. Though things could get stricter ahead.