In 1923, Alice Paul, an activist for women’s rights, introduced the idea of The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The goal of the Equal Rights Amendment was to enable legal equality for all sexes and ban intolerance based on someone’s sex. Nearly forty years later, a wave of feminism propelled the Equal Rights Amendment into Congress. Many supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment campaigned, created petitions, marched, and picketed for its authorization. By October 1971, it secured the necessary two-thirds vote from the United States House of Representatives, and in March 1972, the United States Senate approved it and forwarded it to the states. For the Amendment to be added to the Constitution, it necessitated approval from legislatures in three-fourths (38) of the states. And On Jan. 15, 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, satisfying its requirement. However, the Equal Rights Amendment has yet to be added to the Constitution. This is troubling because the ratification of this amendment is critical and would be extremely beneficial.
For starters, the Equal Rights Amendment is necessary because it will prevent the rollback of significant laws that defend women's rights. A perfect example of this is abortion. Abortion access is essential because many Americans believe that America can not have "true democracy" until women have complete authority over their bodies. Additionally, with the implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment, Americans can file lawsuits and challenge their state’s prohibition of abortion by declaring that it is a representation of sexism under the Constitution. So, especially when the United States Supreme Court’s decision is currently impending in a case that could potentially cause the rollback of Roe v Wade, it is necessary more than ever for legislation like the Equal Rights Amendment.
Furthermore, as demonstrated earlier with the example of abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment is vital because it would establish a coherent judicial guideline for determining whether in any given situation, discrimination due to one’s sex occurred. This is because the amendment would create a precedent for federal courts when choosing in such cases, by classifying equality regardless of sex and gender in the Constitution.
Lastly, the Equal Rights Amendment is essential because, as of right now, the 14th Amendment provides the same rights to all American citizens; however, it does not specifically mention women. On the other hand, the 19th Amendment does explicitly provide women the same voting rights compared to men, but it does not focus on any other issues besides voting rights. Therefore, an amendment, such as the Equal Rights Amendment, that ensures the equal rights of women with no stipulations is crucial.
After all, the Equal Rights Amendment is favored greatly among Americans. According to Forbes, 94% of people living in the United States approve of adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. Although women in America have much more equality than ever before, the Equal Rights Amendment will still add some extensive improvements.