On May 23, a thirty-three-year-old woman gave birth to a seven-pound bouncing baby boy. Nothing would be particularly unusual about this except for the fact that the mother was an active-duty Marine Sergeant serving overseas on an amphibeous assault ship, the U.S.S. Boxer, as part of a combat mission in an official war zone. The woman claimed she did not know she was pregnant.

Probably deeming it to be unpatriotic and politically incorrect to dicuss the implications of female Marines giving birth in combat, when so many women went to war this year, the incident was briefly discussed by the Pentagon, then silenced.

Writing for Military.com, Matthew Dodd offered the following practical concerns:

(1) What if the Boxer had been involved in amphibious combat operations when the Marine went into labor?

(2) What if the Boxer’s medical personnel and facilities had been fully engaged with combat casualties when the Marine went into labor?

(3) Why are we willing to flirt with the possibility of having the Boxer’s medical and operational leadership diverted from their primary responsibilities to deal with pregnancy and birth-at-sea issues?

(4) What if there had been complications with the birth, especially during combat operations?

(5) Would combat casualties have taken precedence over the birth process if resources were an issue?

(6) Can we afford the additional resources (time, equipment, personnel, leadership, decision-making, etc.) to make the special, impromptu arrangements to ensure the safety of mothers and their babies on combatant warships?

(7) Are we willing and able to deal with the breakdown of unit cohesion when expectant and new mothers must be transported to facilities ashore in compliance with Navy regulations?

Dodd’s points are all well-taken and simply illustrate the fact that when you break the law of God, the consequences are terrible. Clearly, childbirth aboard military vessels is unacceptable, but the real issue will always be: What does God’s Word say?

Earlier this year, Vision Forum Ministries threw down the gauntlet and formally challenged the Church to oppose within its ranks (through church discipline if necessary) the sin of women in the military. We received hundreds if not thousands of responses, most very grateful for the biblical stand, a few infuriated, and others still unsure. (To read our theological and practical defense of a male-only military, please visit www.visionforum.org.)