British Army Gets Tough On Pregnancy

The British army has started a sexual health campaign urging female soldiers to carry condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs.

But I have to ask, why should this be the woman’s responsibility alone?

It takes two to tango and she’s not going to get pregnant or HIV by herself.

Surely a campaign targeting all military people, men and women alike, would be much more successful.

It seems that, in the end, it all comes down to money. With ”more than 140 pregnant women… sent home from Iraq and Afghanistan” the best way for the military to save money on these expensive “evacuations” is to urge the women to stop getting pregnant.

But why shouldn’t they get pregnant?

I’m sure these women are smart enough to know that unprotected sex could lead to pregnancy, and if they are not using condoms then they are clearly willing to take that risk.

It’s their right to have children just as much as any other woman, and if they choose to keep the child rather than terminate it then that’s just part and parcel of allowing women to work in the military. If they choose to get pregnant while on duty, then that, although probably not the best idea, is certainly not illegal. And, of course, we have to remember that accidents happen, condoms break, and people get careless.

As it stands, I don’t think that 143 women since 2003 is really such a big number. And as I’m sure the military makes it clear to women that getting pregnant is not an option, it’s likely that the majority of these pregnancies were unplanned.

The minute we start criminalising women for getting pregnant, banning women from duty, or forcing sterilisation we are in trouble. Hopefully the military will continue to supply contraception to their troops and provide support for those women who do get pregnant so they can continue to be involved in the miliarty after their children are born.

See campaign poster here.