This was in large part due to the efforts of conservative women’s organizations opposed it. While 30 states ratified the ERA in 19, the amendment ultimately came up three states short of approval by the 1979 deadline. The amendment had seven years to be ratified by three-fourths, or 38, of the 50 states. The fledgling feminist group, the National Organization for Women, adopted the passage of the ERA in its 1967 Bill of Rights for Women and began staging massive demonstrations and lobbying politicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s in an effort to get Congress to pass the amendment.įinally, in 1972, the ERA passed both houses of Congress. During this time, women were welcomed into politics, onto juries, openly wooed by educational institutions and encouraged to take up male-dominated majors such as math, science and technology. World War II opened many doors for women, who filled gaps in the labor force while men were off fighting. The idea of an Equal Rights Amendment, however, gained momentum among politicians and the broader public. Daniel Anthony Jr., and was brought up during every congressional session between 19 without success. The proposal was adopted and turned into proposed legislation by two Kansas Republicans, Sen. The language of the legislation, which is very similar to the amendment Democrats are currently championing, guaranteed equal rights under the law, regardless of a person’s sex. The push for equal rights first heated up in the 1920s after women gained the right to vote.Īlice Paul, a suffragist, proposed the first version of an Equal Rights Amendment in 1923. Proponents also believe that the ERA can be used to push back against legislation that threatens the rights of LGBTQ+ people. The amendment could help protect women’s access to reproductive health services, including abortion and contraception. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which took away a woman’s right to an abortion, women’s rights advocates argue that the ERA is critical in the post-Dobbs world. Even though the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment prohibits states from denying any person equal protection under the law, women’s rights are not explicitly guaranteed. Women’s rights advocates argue that sex discrimination is a pervasive problem that could be resolved by the ERA. Bettmann/Contributor ‘Ladies against women’ Members of the National Organization for Women demonstrate outside the White House in 1969 for the Equal Rights Amendment. Most recently, in April 2023 Senate Republicans blocked a similar resolution that would let states ratify the amendment, despite an expired deadline. Constitution to recognize women’s rights have faced major challenges for the past century. Cori Bush of Missouri and other Democratic lawmakers are arguing that the Equal Rights Amendment, often referred to as the ERA, has already been ratified by the states and is enforceable as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.Įfforts to amend the U.S. “Women are being treated as second-class citizens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York in an interview July 13, 2023. “In light of Dobbs, we’re seeing vast discrimination across the country,” said U.S. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which removed the federal right to an abortion. As legislation, it would guarantee sex equality in the Constitution and could serve as a potential legal antidote to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Democrats in Congress are making a new push to get the long-dormant proposed Equal Rights Amendment enshrined into law.
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