Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment is not about Equal Rights—it is about funding abortions.  Join the fight HERE.

The ERA Hurts Women

In particular, it will wipe out all kinds of laws and protections in place for women, as they do give preference to women to meet their unique needs.

The following major federal laws guarantee equal pay for equal work; 

(1) the Equal Pay Act of 1963; (2) the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972; and (4) the Federal Minimum Wage Act of 1974. Equal protection under the law is adequately covered by the following major Federal legislation:

(1) the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; (2) the Comprehensive Health Manpower Training Act of 1971; (3) the Nurse Training Act of 1971; (4) the Higher Education Act of 1972; (5) the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973; and (6) the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1975. 

Protection In Education

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: 

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 

Trojan Horse For Abortion

ERA helps the abortion industry worm their way into the Constitution. 

Abortion is not found in the U.S. Constitution, but this would provide constitutional cover for abortion, and in fact, similar language has been used at the state level to justify taxpayer-funded abortion. 

“Both the basis of the privacy argument and even the technical, technological underpinnings of [Roe] always seemed likely to expire,” said Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Women and Democracy Fellow at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice. “Technology was always going to move us to a place where the trimester framework didn’t make sense.” 

“If you were rooted in an equality argument, those things would not matter,” she said. 

The Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit sex discrimination the way the Constitution currently prohibits discrimination based on race, religion and national origin, could do just that. The ERA would provide the framework for an equality argument: Women’s equality necessarily requires reproductive and bodily autonomy, and without control over our bodies, women cannot participate as full and equal citizens in this country.

The text of the ERA itself doesn’t itself mention abortion. It 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.” A right to abortion based on an Equal Rights Amendment wouldn’t be about the abortion procedure itself. It would be about women’s ability to live equally as full citizens under the law. 

Several state equal rights amendments have already interpreted this way, and could point the way forward. In 1986, the Connecticut Superior Court struck down an abortion restriction using state’s ERA, ruling that “discrimination against pregnancy by not funding abortion when it is medically necessary and when all other medical expenses are paid by the state for both men and women is sex oriented discrimination.” In 1998, New Mexico’s high court ruled that a policy to restrict funding for medically necessary abortions violated New Mexico’s Equal Rights Amendment “because it result[ed] in a program that does not apply the same standard of medical necessity to both men and women.”

Other Issues

ERA will empower courts, congress and regulatory agencies … not women. 

The language of the effort will allow activists again to use the courts and governmental agencies to push an abortion agenda. This is the Everything Related to Abortion Act … rather than an effort designed to put women first. 

Section II of the ERA states that “The Congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of this article.” This would give enormous new powers to the Federal Government that now belong to the states. 

ERA could end Social Security benefits for spouses, particularly harming stay-at-home spouses. 

“According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s book Sex Bias in the U.S. Code, the ERA will change 800 federal laws including the elimination of social security benefits for wives and widows. (pages 206, 211-212) “Equality of rights under law shall not be denied…on account of sex.”” 

ERA could eliminate child support: 

“…[I]t could relieve the fathers of the primary responsibility for the support of even infant children, as well as the support of the mothers of such children…” (U.S. House Judiciary Committee Report (No. 92-359, July 14, 1971). “Equality of rights under law shall not be denied…on account of sex. 

Op-Eds and Articles 

Letters To The Editor 

First, find out where to send letters to the editor in your local paper. You can usually find this under “contact us” on the newspapers website or by looking in the letter to the editor section of your paper. Remember to look for your local online-only newspapers too, where community members can usually easily submit content. 

Second, write out your letter to the editor, but make sure to follow the guidelines for length listed in the paper. A good letter to the editor is usually only 4 to 5 sentences and gets straight to the point. Something straightforward like, “I am writing as a pro-life voter who does not want to see abortion funded by taxpayers in the state. I oppose passage of the anti-woman Equal Rights Amendment because it won’t help bring about equality between the sexes, instead it will just lead to more destruction of human life, and it has the potential to strip away legal protections for women. We can create a fair society without ending human life.” 

Third, make sure to proofread the letter and double-check you have provided all the information that is asked of you such as contact information.

Finally, if your letter to the editor is published, please send it to [email protected]. We’d love to see it and share it!

Contacting Your Legislators 

Contacting your legislator is easy! All you need to do is look up on your state’s website the address for either their office at the state capitol or the local constituent office (you can see an example for the state of Virginia here.) Some research shows that handwritten or typed letters are taken more seriously than just a simple e-mail, so the payoff is huge for sending in a letter. Remember to keep the letter to 4-8 sentences and include contact information so they can reach you. 

You can find your legislator’s phone number by searching online for their information (simply Google, “how can I contact” and then their name). If you need help finding out your legislator, you can usually find this information on the state’s website (you can find an example for the state of Virginia by clicking here.) 

When you call, you’ll likely be talking to an intern or a constituent services staff member. Remember to be quick and to the point and politely state your points.

Conclusion

The Equal Rights Amendment is dangerous legislation. But, with your help, we can defeat it and protect preborn lives! If you have suggestions for other information or advice we can add, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or by calling the office at (540)834-4600.

You can read the full letter and press release here.

Media Coverage

Sources