"This may come as a shock to the Pentagon chief, but most of the [draft] rumors have arisen from actions within the Bush administration, which has studied how to expand draft registration to include women, target some civilian work specialties for special attention by the draft and extend the required draft registration age from 25 years old to 34 years....
"Separately, the agency also has in place a special registration system to draft health care personnel in more than 60 specialties into the military if necessary in a crisis.... Rumors about the draft also have been fueled by the update of contingency plans for a draft of medical personnel in a crisis.
"The New York Times reported this month that the Selective Service System had hired a public relations agency, Widmeyer Communications, to assess how to plan for such a medical draft. The agency advised that 'overtures from Selective Service to the medical community will be seen as precursors to a draft' that could alarm the public, the newspaper reported."
