Army of One

In the wake of all this anti-woman sentiment that’s been blowing around the last few years, the public has started to take notice of the plight of enlisted women in the armed forces. Entrenched in a nearly all-male environment, women have been victims of discrimination and violence since they were first allowed to serve during WWII. Women have not been allowed to fight in combat with men; they do not receive coverage for abortion under military health plans, nor can they receive abortion services in military health facilities. Most egregiously, they are frequent targets of sexual  violence by officers and fellow enlistees. I take that back; the worst part of all is that complaints of sexual violence are rarely taken seriously, assuming a complaint is made in the first place. Most cases go unreported, for fear of retaliation or punishment. 

That’s right. In the US Armed Forces, you can be punished for being raped. It sounds like something that might happen somewhere far away, like the woman from Morocco who killed herself after being forced to marry her rapist. But nope. This is happening right here at home. It would surprise me, but little does these days. 

I first learned about this phenomenon a few years ago watching The Coathanger Project, in which a former soldier told her story of being dishonorably discharged for having sex and then attempting an abortion. More recently, I watched The Invisible War, a documentary about women enlistees (and some men) who were raped, even drugged and beaten, and received no help from those in charge. They were slut-shamed, victim-blamed, or plain told to suck it up. When a group of victims brought a lawsuit against the military for mistreatment of them and their cases, it was dismissed on the grounds that sexual assault is an occupational hazard of being enlisted. 

Gag me with a spoon. 

If you haven’t seen the film, DO. I can’t remember the last time  I was so angry, so if you’re interested in draining yourself emotionally it’ll do the trick. One issue that wasn’t addressed in the film was the what happened to those who became pregnant as a result of rape (which can happen!). As we know, you can’t get an abortion with military funds or in military facilities, so I’m sure those people have quite interesting (and horrific) stories to tell. But I suppose that would become a six hour movie. 

You know, I’ve gotten lots of flack in my life for not loving my country as I should. For threatening to move to Canada if Bush was elected. For not buying that the military has anything to do with protecting my freedom. For hating American flag  and “Support our Troops” bumper stickers. For questioning why our defense budget is out of this world but we can't feed the poor. For not identifying as a patriot, because being a patriot these days apparently means toting a gun, driving a big car, and popping off firecrackers in a South Carolina rest stop in a "USMC" t-shirt. But the reason I don't love my country as I should is because, call me crazy, I believe in an America where women are treated as equals. Where they can fight alongside their brothers without fear of incest. Where they can love their country so much that they'll die for it without feeling unsafe around the people who supposedly keep us safe. Support our troops? Not as long as they're raping our other troops.

 Look, I have lots of thoughts on this, but sadly I don't really know what I can do except stand together with victims and support reform in the military. I think some minor changes are happening (better moves than these god-awful posters, and these, and these), but I'm pessimistic that nothing will change on a large scale until misogynistic looneys are six feet under. I guess I just want to raise awareness, and give readers the opportunity to learn and pass on their learnings to others. Talk about it, make sure that people understand why this is such a problem. And pray not only for our troops, but for the sad, angry place this country has become in hopes of REAL security and freedom. 

Saluting our soldiers

I went to an NFL football game recently and was shocked by the amount of “military worship” (as I like to call it). During the game there were multiple video stories of vets and what they went through and they also presented an injured vet with the home team’s football helmet (apparently replacing one form of armor for another). Ever since “Operation Iraqi Freedom” began in 2003 it seems that many mainstream events and media outlets tend to do segments/pieces where they honor a military vet, or a current soldier, or their family, or someone who was injured serving in the war.

The language around these events and soldiers use lots of phrases like “fighting for our freedom”, and “fighting so you don’t have to”, and “heroes in the war on terror”.

I do agree that soldiers face many risks and do honorable things. However, I have always felt that there are many more people who are not in the military who deserve just as much appreciation and dare I say worship! The same things we say about soldiers can easily be said about those who work in abortion. WE are fighting for women’s freedom. WE are fighting so you don’t have to (yes, I’m talking to you Mr. anti abortion-until-your-daughter chooses one and then suddenly it’s great that people like me have fought to keep abortion legal). WE are heroes in the war on terror due to the domestic terrorism we are constantly faced with.

I also noticed that the airports waive baggage fees for soldiers. What about abortion providers who fly across states to work in a clinic that has no providers that live locally? Shouldn’t those providers get free luggage check too? What about providers who travel abroad to places without safe and clean equipment for family planning? They should get the same courtesy that soldiers do.

Soldiers also get to go through a fast lane in many airports for the security screening. I’ve been on planes where the pilot will announce soldiers who are returning from war and the entire plane will clap. Shouldn’t an abortion provider receive the same show of appreciation? They provide a vital service and are also risking their life.

When I flew out of an airport yesterday there was a parade of soldiers weaving through the atrium. There was a woman from the USO leading them and waving a flag. There were maybe 200 or so soldiers and the entire airport atrium was applauding them. I think we should try something similar for abortion providers at the next ACOG meeting. Who’s with me?

Ways To Get Screwed By A Pentagon, Henry Hyde, World Wars, and Other Violent Artifacts of the Twentieth Century

[As a promised follow-up to this post.]

I'm visiting home this week and won't be back for months, and I can't safely stay pregnant in Afghanistan much longer. Can you see me before Sunday?

They'll ground me if they find out I'm pregnant, but the Air Force is my last chance out of the dead-end town I'm graduating from. How early in my pregnancy can I have an abortion?

My fiance just left for a second tour, and I can't imagine going through this without him. Where can I find an abortion provider and someone to talk to?
(OR: My fiance was just killed while serving, and I can't imagine going through this without him. Where can I find an abortion provider and someone to talk to?)
(OR: My fiance was just killed while serving, and I can't imagine not having his child in five/six/seven months. Where can I find prenatal care and someone to talk to?)

I'm an Army brat -- we travel around with my mom a lot -- so I don't know this town too well or have a lot of friends I could ask for help. Where's the closest abortion clinic, and will it be OK if I ride the bus there?

We're on my husband's TriCare plan, but they're denying coverage for my abortion even though the pregnancy is shutting down my kidneys. Is there anyone out there that helps with this sort of thing?


(I sure hope so, five or six weeks from the start of your last normal period, here, here, here, you'll probably need a friend to drive you home and may need to check out parental consent laws in your state, and yes thank god but they need our help.)


"Back to the status quo" update in the last two weeks: Military higher-up to reverse official policy punishing pregnancy. OK, now how about you combat that parallel de-facto punishment system too? Reproductive justice in tiny, endless shuffles...

Ways To Not Understand "Choice," or Patriots don't get pregnant

A 'C'? A 'C'? I got a 'C' on my coathanger sculpture? How could anyone get a 'C' in coathanger sculpture?


(who doesn't like a little humorous misapplication of a classic cartoon line?)


I can never tell if it's more frustrating or funny to realize I'm talking to someone who thinks pro-choicers support coerced abortion. It happens about as often as I venture into anti world -- which means, depending on how patient/masochistic I'm feeling. The thing that seems obvious to me is, "chosen" is like the opposite of "coerced," so you'd think pro-choice might suggest...anti-coercion.

The questions (they are usually questions, though I'm not sure if they're earnest or intended as a-ha! traps) are things like "What about that woman whose husband tricked her into taking the abortion pill" or "What about the woman whose parents threw her in the trunk of the car and drove her to an abortion clinic" or "What about the woman who was told by an evil genie that she had to either get an abortion or be sold into a harem on the lost island empire of Atlantis". #1 and #2 are specific examples of questions I've been asked, and they refer to actual events that have occurred. #1 and #2 are also called 'assault' and are punishable by prison time.

The other main twisting of "choice" that I hear a lot always feels like a punch in the gut, and I do hear this one a lot because our culture is full of slut-shaming, not just in anti world. People who think they're cute pipe up with this semantic tour-de-force that goes something like, "I believe in a woman's right to choose -- she could've CHOSEN not to spread her legs!" Ah, clever. The idea being, if you're dumb enough to CHOOSE to have sex, and then get pregnant from it, you fucked up and deserve to stay pregnant. I mean, we don't let speeding drivers seek treatment for their broken limbs, do we? Fifty-five means fifty-five! So if a woman finds herself pregnant in a situation where she can't stay pregnant, even though she knew from the get-go that getting pregnant would really suck, then she's an idiot and pretty much earned what she gets, which is to take her life into her hands, nearly kick the bucket, be refused emergency care from her own doctor, be told she's crazy by another doctor and also lose her job.

Say what? Well, you should read this: Military Abortion Ban: Female Soldiers Not Protected by Constitution They Defend.

“You hear these legends of coat-hanger abortions,” a 26-year-old former Marine sergeant told me recently, “but there are no coat hangers in Iraq. I looked.”

Synopsis, though I hope you'll just go read the article: active-duty military who become pregnant are discriminated against and those who seek abortions get it even worse. So they're trapped, and might do the next logical thing: the Russian roulette of DIY. (You can also see this sergeant interviewed in the documentary The Coat Hanger Project.)

And right on the heels of that article comes word of a recent policy on the ground in northern Iraq that pretty much codifies what's been going on all along: forced unsafe abortion for female servicemembers. U.S. personnel in Iraq could face court-martial for getting pregnant:

The policy, which went into effect Nov. 4, makes it possible to face punishment, including a court-martial and jail time, for becoming pregnant or impregnating a servicemember, according to the wording of the policy and confirmations from Army officials. ... The policy also applies to married couples who are at war together.

To recap, your beloved Department of Defense:
(1) forbids medical personnel to provide abortion care except in cases of rape or life endangerment;
(2) refuses to cover the cost of abortion care except in cases of life endangerment only;
(3) by its very nature stations its personnel in places it has utterly ravaged so that, if they ever did have safe specialty health services, well they don't anymore.
...so far so good, right? The DoD is doing an awesome job preventing abortion -- hell, they've made it practically impossible!

(4) engages in under-the-table discrimination against pregnant soldiers and, now, outright criminalizes pregnancy.

So now what? Well, like I said, now you take your life into your hands, nearly kick the bucket, get refused emergency care from your own doctor, get told you're crazy by another doctor and also lose your job. It's that or jail (or maybe both). You don't have much choice.


This blog is primarily for us to share from our perspective in the field, so you might wonder if now I've accidentally digressed into extrapolation or punditry. But I could tell you a surprising (to me) number of stories from work involving women in the military, or married into the military, needing an abortion as a result of their connection to the military and then having a hard time obtaining one as a result of their connection to the military. They're not all the same situation as that of "Amy" in the RD interview -- there's a lot of different ways to get screwed over for serving one's country while uterused. Maybe this will be a two-part post, so next time (around the new year) I can share some of those with you. But you don't need to hear them all to see there's an unjust price for being a woman in uniform.