The now, forward-thinking, U.S. military is planning on covering all of its bases throughout the world by offering emergency contraception, better known as the morning after pill or Plan B (levonorgestrel), to its female soldiers.
According to U.S. Defense Department spokesperson Cynthia Smith, the decision to distribute Plan B was reached last November by an independent advisory panel of medical doctors and pharmacists. The gathering of health care experts agreed that military bases should keep a supply of the 2006 FDA-approved contraception drug for those who require it. Although many military hospitals already keep a supply of Plan B, the new policy will mandate that the drug will become a stocked item in every medical facility, including in Iran and Afghanistan bases.
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, praised the U.S. Pentagon and the shift from the resistance of the Bush administration to provide emergency contraception to military women when the issue was debated, then overruled, back in 2002. Keenan expects that the decision to provide Plan B would affect some 350,000 women in the U.S. Armed Forces. "We applaud the medical experts for standing up for military women," said Keenan.
The decision to approve the drug on U.S. military bases globally, comes on the heels of a U.S. Commander in Iraq and his attempt to enforce a clause in his code of conduct that would have made getting pregnant while deployed there, or impregnating a woman in the military, a punishable offense. The U.S. Armed Forces' current policy, regarding a female military personnel's pregnancy, is that she would immediately be removed and sent back to the United States.
Anti-abortion groups have been rallying against the controversial drug since it was approved, comparing it to a surgical abortion. Pro-choice advocates argue, that Plan B does not cause an abortion but rather significantly decreases a woman's pregnancy chances if taken after intercourse.
As to when the policy regarding Plan B will actually go into effect, Smith cannot state at this time.
Comments: (5)
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By: MS PEGGY on 2/08/2010 11:31AM
Am I correct in assuming that the morning after pill's purpose is emergency use only in the case of rape? If there are women who would use the RU morning after pill as a form of contraception and birth control with all the preventatives available to them then they need to be kicked out of the military. I dread there ever being a case of the military ever exerting its authority over a soldier and using intimidation or force to coerce an unwilling soldier to take the pill against her will. Except in the case of rape, a female soldier has a choice already without fear of legalities and court martials and such. However a soldier's rights are more limited than those under the control of the armed forces. What is a commanding officer ORDERED a woman to take the morning after pill and she refused? Then what? I think this is a hornet's nest waiting to be stirred up.
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By: paul on 2/08/2010 2:01PM
I'm sure this stems from the new policy against getting pregnant if serving. They've listed getting knocked up as a forbidden act and give both the man and woman involved a dishonorable discharge. I think they are just making the morning after pill available so that there are no excuses on the part of the soldier.
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By: Ellie on 2/10/2010 9:28AM
Now, the male soldiers can rape their female comrades with impunity and get rid of the evidence too! I know the female soldiers are just clamoring for this; the higher ups already refuse to believe they're being raped(often by superiors) and now the rapists can force them to get rid of the evidence.
Happy Days for our rapists in uniform!
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By: telly on 2/08/2010 4:27PM
It's about time! it's time that women learn that our military is not a day care center for peolpe looking for free child care. The military is a fighting force meant for war; not a social service welfare camp. If you want to have babies...stay home, or accept a military discharge. The military needs to get back to basics of what made them an institution of greatness, and stop playing the politically correct games of Washington and the Whitehouse, that seek to turn it into Club Med. These are the same degenerates that want to flood the armed services with gays and cross-dressers, which will, in no doubt, undermine it's cohesion and integrity!!!
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By: Kera on 2/08/2010 5:16PM
I could go rither way with this. I am a female in the army, and I do have children, but I am married. So I know what it's ike trying to soldier and parent at the same time. Personally I think this is a god idea for the simple fact that there are a lot of young single female soldiers in the army who are getting knocked up and don't need to pro-create. I think it's a bad idea because the responsible female soldiers who could manage their duties with a child may be corced and/or forced to get rid of their babies. I'm on the fence with this one. Plus for helping to rid the army of females not being able to deploy because of not having a care plan...minus for the armt being so damned shifty and always trying to cover up things they don't want to get out to the public.
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