OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

House Democrats Pass Legislation that Would Force Women to Register for the Draft and Fund Abortion with Taxpayer Money

Statement

Date: Feb. 13, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Women Constitution Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

U.S. Representative Mark Walker (R-N.C.) today released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J.Res. 79, to remove the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment:

"Discrimination or partial governance is objectional, intolerable and -- through the 14th Amendment -- is illegal. The innocuously named "Equal Rights Amendment' has long expired for a reason: it won't add protections for women, but would result in young women being forced to register for the draft, insecurity or closure for female serving institutions and the codification of taxpayer funding for abortion -- an act that takes the lives of hundreds of thousands of girls every year."

Specifically, this resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The original deadline for ratification was nearly 40 years ago in 1982. Three-fourths of the states - 38- are required in order to ratify the amendment to the U.S. Constitution. During the designated ratification period, several states even rescinded previous ratification.

This resolution begins to unravel Constitutional amendment requirements by extending the deadline for ratification indefinitely.

This resolution has also been called into legal question by a number of judges and justices across the political spectrum, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Aside from the ratification process, the implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment has raised concerns from many lawmakers. Under the proposed law, the definition of "gender' would be interpreted to include sexual orientation and gender identity. In practice, this could require the inclusion of male students with female sports teams or educational institutions. It could potentially also lead to the interpretation that abortion is discriminatory on the basis of sex, opening a door to abortion law repeals across the country.


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