As thousands of Iowans are now on active military duty, a federal judge ruled Monday that military personnel cannot be forced to take an anthrax vaccine. The ruling says some of the vaccine is experimental and therefore servicemen and women should be given the choice on whether or not to take it. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says soldiers should not be used as “guinea pigs” and says he agrees with the ruling. More than 900-thousand soldiers have received the anthrax shots, and Grassley says he’s not sure they should have been forced to have the vaccines in the first place, given their experimental nature. The Pentagon says hundreds of troops have been punished or discharged for refusing the vaccines. The court ruling could lead to a reversal of those consequences of non-compliance.
