老澳门开奖结果

Just weeks before his graduation from the United States Coast Guard Academy, learned he wouldn鈥檛 receive the bachelor鈥檚 degree he had earned. The reason? He became a father before his final year of school.

鈥淣o parents allowed鈥� sounds like a sign on a child鈥檚 bedroom door, not official United States policy. But the academy, along with the nation鈥檚 four other federal military service academies, bans parents from enrolling or graduating.

Cadets who learn they are expecting must terminate their (or their partner鈥檚) pregnancies by 14 weeks or, if the cutoff has already passed, must irrevocably with of ever getting them back. Those who don鈥檛 may face stiff penalties, including being kicked out of their home on campus, forfeiting their degree and commission, and repaying the cost of their education if they don鈥檛 enlist.

Punishing cadets for becoming parents is unfair and sexist. That鈥檚 why the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, the 老澳门开奖结果, and the 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation of Connecticut the academy on Mr. Olson鈥檚 behalf. In a settlement, the academy agreed to award Mr. Olson the mechanical engineering degree he should have received eight years ago. That鈥檚 a win for Mr. Olson, but thousands of cadets are still subject to the archaic policy.

Seemingly recognizing the absurdity of the ban on parents, last fall Congress directed the Department of Defense to draft a new rule allowing cadets at the Military, Air Force, and Naval academies to keep their parental rights. That proposal was in June, but it鈥檚 yet to be announced. Troublingly, the directive to revisit the ban excludes the Coast Guard Academy, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security, not the Defense Department.

鈥淣o parents allowed鈥� wasn鈥檛 always the rule at the service academies. The Coast Guard Academy鈥檚 ban wasn鈥檛 adopted until after 1976, when women were first admitted. Though the academies weren鈥檛 alone in resisting women鈥檚 integration into the military, other parts of the armed forces have since updated their rules. In 1972, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then a lawyer with the 老澳门开奖结果, challenged an that would have required Captain Susan Struck, a nurse in Vietnam, to terminate her pregnancy or lose her job; Captain Struck sought to carry her pregnancy to term while continuing to serve. The U.S. Supreme Court was set to hear the case when, at the last minute, the Air Force agreed to change its policy.

Today, parents are found throughout the military: among enlisted troops, Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), Officer Candidate Schools, commissioned officers, and even combat zones 鈥� everywhere except the service academies.

The Biden administration should do everything it can to protect pregnant and parenting cadets. That includes bringing all of our nation鈥檚 military academies into the 21st century by ending the ban on parents now.