This week’s update shines a bright spotlight on torture, one of the darkest chapters in our U.S. history. Plus we ask for your views on two important VCS advocacy efforts.

Why Are Their Reproductive Rights Denied?

December 21, 2009 (AlterNet) - "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." Amy (who prefers not to use her real name) was stationed in Fallujah as a military journalist two years ago when she discovered she was pregnant. As a female Marine, a distinct minority in the branch, Amy was fearful of going to her chain of command to explain her situation.

Watchdog Group Says Further Changes Are Necessary To Avoid Religious Coercion At Fort Leonard Wood

December 18, 2009 (Americans United press release) - U.S. military officials should make further changes at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to ensure that soldiers are not subjected to unwanted religious proselytism, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Republican senators feel burned by Al Franken — and not by his old jokes.

December 2, 2009 (Politico) - The Republicans are steamed at Senator Al Franken (D-Minn) because partisans on the left are using a measure he sponsored to paint them as rapist sympathizers — and because Franken isn’t doing much to stop them.