Women Soldiers Threatened With Court Marital for Pregnancy

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Allied Forces in Afghanistan - Fatalities by Province (2001-09)

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Army Major General Anthony Cucolo is under fire for his recent issuing of an order threatening women soldiers under his command with a court martial if they are to get pregnant. Cucolo enacted the policy on November 4 explaining, "I've got a 22,000-man task force and I need every soldier I've got. We are facing a drawdown and anyone that leaves earlier than the expected 12 months creates a burden on their teammates. [...] My female soldiers are invaluable -- many of them hold high impact jobs. In general, my troops are few in number and I need them all."

Of Cucolo's 22,000 soldiers 1,682 are women.

But the policy isn't limited to women, "we have to keep an eye on every soldier and so men who break this rule are subject to the same punishments."

But the latest reports confirm that court martials will not be issued but rather some other form of lesser disciplinary action. In a statement to ABC News Cucolo said, "I see absolutely no circumstance where I would punish a female soldier by court martial for a violation... none, I fully intend to handle these cases through lesser disciplinary action."

What do you think? Is there any justification to punishing soldiers for getting pregnant?