Equal Rights Amendment Cons

Words: 1952
Pages: 8

The groan of inequality finally comes to Congress in 1972: the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment. It was sent to the states for ratification; however, only thirty-five of the states ratified it, leaving it short of a mere three states. From that date on and to this present day, it has been reintroduced every year to Congress yearning to be passed. Stated in the Equal Rights Amendment reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex”. It also affirms that Congress has the power to enforce the provisions of this article. We are one of the only developed country in the world still without an assurance of equal rights in our Constitution. The Equal Rights Amendments …show more content…
Constitution, it only guarantees the rights currently within it. Issues like single-sex schools that only takes in one gender or government forced abortions will not be affected by the inclusion of the ERA, opposed to state ERA’s. “In Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan (1972), the Court found that Mississippi’s policy of refusing to admit males to its all-female School of Nursing was unconstitutional” (Francis). Even without the ERA in the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions in recent decades have increasingly limited the constitutionality of public single-sex institutions. “Some states with state ERAs (e.g., Pennsylvania) enforce significant restrictions (waiting period, medical certification of necessity, no public funding, etc.) on a woman’s exercise of her constitutional right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy” (Francis). Experience with state ERAs over more than forty years has debunked claims that the ERA would require government to allow “abortion on demand.” Another reason the ERA Amendment would guarantee rights without adding laws, deals with LGBT rights and Family Law. In the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges same-sex marriage case, “the majority opinion avoided any determination that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is subject to any form of heightened judicial scrutiny (such as strict or intermediate), or that homosexuals or bisexuals (of any gender) are a …show more content…
The ERA will finally clarify and lay out the foundation for which jurisdictions will follow, solidify the rights we already have, and bring equality on both parties. Even though it has been a buildup of years and years, these things take time in order to make sure all provisions of this amendment will actually work and not become a bluff. Each year, we can make it better by clarification and drafts. It took years for many things to become valid in our Constitution: this is just another one. I look forward to seeing this amendment becoming even further revised in order to make sure it is as perfect as it can be in the natural world. I don’t doubt the ratification of this amendment with the push of left side and acquiescence from the conservative