“It’s well understood that the language used in the ERA would not protect women, but would prevent state voters from enacting any limits on abortion, up to the moment of birth,” Rep. The current opposition to the ERA has centered on abortion and services for transgender persons, among other things.

Phyllis Schlafly testifies at a 2006 congressional hearing. Opposition to the amendment in the 1970s was led by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, who said the ERA would abolish privileges women enjoy, such as exemption from the military draft and advantages in child-custody legal cases, according to her 2016 obituary from Bloomberg News. “For survivors of sexual violence, pregnancy discrimination, unequal pay, and more, the fight for equal justice under the law can’t wait any longer.” Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who sponsored the resolution, said in a news release. “Virginia’s vote and the outpouring of support from Americans-men and women-across the country have shown that it is finally time to affirm women’s equality in our Constitution and that there is no timeline or expiration date when it comes to achieving it,” Rep. 27, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA after Democrats assumed the majority in both chambers of the state legislature. No federal appeals court, nor the Supreme Court, has ruled on the validity of a state’s rescinding ratification of a constitutional amendment.ĭespite the deadline passing in 1982, Nevada ratified the amendment in 2017, and Illinois approved it in 2018, bringing the number of ratifying states to 37, without taking those that rescinded their approval into account. Momentum stalled, however, and five of those states enacted legislation to rescind their ratification by 1978. Ratification initially moved quickly, with 35 states approving the amendment by the fall of 1977. 638 in the 95th Congress to extend the deadline by around three years, to June 30, 1982, according to the Congressional Research Service. The measure set a seven-year deadline for ratification by the required three-fourths of the states-or 38-following the amendment’s submission to the states. It was proposed to the states in 1972 through two-thirds votes in both chambers by H.

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” would be added to the Constitution by the proposed amendment, known as the ERA. The time limit for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S.

Equal rights amendment text