Episode 33: Hold Up—Women Cadets at Military Academies Face Expulsion if They Become Pregnant?
Yeah, this is a rule we need to discuss. Women who attend any of the military academies in the U.S. have to choose between expulsion, abortion or permanently serving their parental rights if they become pregnant during the four years they're enrolled. Melissa Hemphill was a cadet at the Air Force Academy in 2009 when she became pregnant and faced this bevy of tough to tougher choices. Melissa generously shares with us her experience and the insane obstacle course of legal hoops she and her now-husband jumped through to stay in their son's life. Why the military punishes pregnant cadets, one can only speculate, but we have some theories and they're rooted in us womens being SUPER inconvenient and gah, we're so sorry. New legislation called the CADET Act is trying to make it a little better, but is the bill all it's cracked up to be? Also included: an apology for something Amanda said in Episode 32 that should have been sent through another layer of filter in her brain first.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE
“When Pregnancy Triggers Violence” on DomesticShelters.org