US military US general in Iraq imposes pregnancy ban [View All]

[Christa]

Female soldiers who become pregnant and male soldiers who impregnate them can be court-martialled.


A US army general in northern Iraq has added pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could be court-martialled.

The new policy, outlined last month by Maj Gen Anthony Cucolo and released on Friday by the army, would apply to female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who impregnate them.

Civilians reporting to Cucolo could also face criminal prosecution under the new guidelines.

Army spokesman George Wright said the service typically sends home from the battlefield soldiers who become pregnant. But it is not an army-wide policy to punish them under the military's legal code, he said.

However, division commanders such as Cucolo have the authority to impose these type of restrictions to personnel operating under their command, Wright said.

Cucolo oversees forces in northern Iraq, an area that includes the cities of Kirkuk, Tikrit and Mosul. His 4 November order was first reported by the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/20/us-general-iraq-pregnancy-ban