University of Virginia Library

Female Draft

There is really no legal
question about the draft. Both
sides agree that if ERA were
ratified women would be
eligible for the draft. The issue
seems, rather,to be that of values
and priorities.

The prospect of military
conscription for females is a
feature of the amendment that
many women, and men, find
particularly appalling. Mrs.
Schlafly argues that ERA "will
make women subject to the
draft and to combat duty
equally with men; a woman
will register for the draft at the
age of eighteen as a man does
now."

She defends her statements
by quoting(and misquoting)
the April 1971 edition of the
Yale Law Journal. "Women
are physically as able as men to
perform many jobs classified as
combat duty, such as piloting
n airplane or engaging in naval
operations," the article claims.

One quote Mrs. Schlafly did
not get quite right, though,
reads, "Deferment policy could
provide that one, but not both
of the parents would be
deferred," the Journal
explains. "For example,
whichever was called first
might be eligible for service."
Mrs. Schlafly neglected,
however, to mention the
several other alternatives listed
in the article.

Supporters of ERA concede
that women will be subject to
combat service. Groups like
Northern Virginia's chapter of
NOW (National Organization
of Women) contend that
regardless of the merits of
military conscription, women
as citizens should share in the
defense of the country.

The Charlottesville-Albemarle
League of Women Voters say
that "equal rights cannot come
without equal responsibility."

"The picture of mothers
being torn from their children
is not a realistic one,"
according to a League
spokesman. "ERA will not
require all women to serve in
the military, any more than all
men do today. Congress has
the power to create
exemptions which may apply
equally to men and women."

These groups emphasize the
fact that by serving in the
military equally with men,
women will be eligible for the
benefits which are part of
military service.

With President Nixon's
halting of the draft, however,
this issue has slipped from its
position of major importance.
Women regard it as a less
realistic threat.