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Did You Know? - The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): A Comprehensive History · Voices Of Life

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  This is the Voices of Life podcast. Today's episode
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  is part of our Did You Know series, where we
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  uncover the stories behind America's constitutional
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  history. In this episode, we explore the Equal
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  Rights Amendment, a proposal debated for more
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  than a century. From Seneca Falls in 1848, to
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  Congress in 1972, and into the modern day. A
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  journey of hope, conflict, and unfinished questions.
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  And guiding us through this remarkable story
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  is your host, Pastor David. Thank you for joining
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  us today on the Voices of Life, a ministry of
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  the Church for Life. I'm Pastor David. Did you
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  know that one of the most enduring constitutional
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  debates in American history began nearly two
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  centuries ago and still hasn't been resolved?
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  Today on Voices of Life, we explore the long
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  -winding and often surprising journey of the
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  Equal Rights Amendment, a proposal that has shaped
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  generations of activism, political conflict,
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  and constitutional interpretation. It was a dream
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  born in 1848. The story begins in Seneca Falls,
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  New York in 1848, at a time when women could
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  not vote. could not own property independently
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  once married, and were barred from many professions.
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  A group of courageous leaders gathered to declare
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  that America needed to change. Elizabeth Cady
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  Stanton and Lucretia Mott helped craft the Declaration
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  of Sentiments, a bold document demanding equal
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  rights for women. This was the spark, the first
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  flame of a movement that would burn for generations.
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  The 19th Amendment, a milestone, but not the
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  finish line, came in 1920. The ratification of
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  the 19th Amendment granted women the right to
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  vote. It was a monumental victory, but many activists
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  knew it was only the beginning. Voting rights
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  did not erase the hundreds of laws that treated
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  men and women differently. One woman understood
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  this better than others, Alice Paul. and the
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  birth of the ERA. That was in 1923. Just three
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  years after women won the right to vote, Alice
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  Paul introduced what she called the Lucretia
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  Mott Amendment. Her original wording was simple
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  and sweeping. Men and women shall have equal
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  rights throughout the United States in every
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  place subject to its jurisdiction. Hall believed
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  voting alone could not secure equality. She saw
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  a nation where laws still needed limited women's
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  working hours, restricted their economic independence,
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  and denied them equal standing in courts and
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  contracts. But surprisingly, many women's organizations
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  opposed the amendment. They feared losing workplace
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  protections, maternity safeguards, and labor
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  rules designed specifically for women. The debate
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  became a clash between equality and protective
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  legislation, and it stalled the amendment for
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  decades. So for 50 years, for nearly half a century,
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  between 1923 and 1970, Congress refused to move
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  the ERA forward. Committee chairs blocked hearings,
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  votes never advanced, yet support slowly grew
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  among Republicans, Democrats, civil rights advocates,
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  and women's organizations. By the 1960s, the
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  rise of the second wave feminism reignited the
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  flight. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Civil
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  Rights Act of 1964, and the Title VII protections
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  all strengthened the argument. If race discrimination
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  deserved constitutional protection, sex discrimination
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  should too. The ERA was ready for its moment.
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  On March 22, 1972, Congress overwhelmingly approved
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  the Equal Rights Amendment. The vote was stunning.
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  In the House, 354 to 24, and in the Senate, 84
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  to 8. President Nixon supported it, though his
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  signature was not required under Article 5. Congress
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  added a seven -year ratification deadline, setting
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  the clock to expire in 1979, and America responded
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  with unprecedented speed. Within one year, 30
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  states ratified the ERA. Eventually, 35 states
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  approved it, just three shy of the required 38.
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  Momentum was strong, but then came one of the
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  most effective grassroots movements in modern
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  political history. Led by Phyllis Shafley, the
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  Stop ERA movement, Stop Taking Our Privileges,
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  mobilized millions of Americans. Opponents argued
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  the ERA would eliminate legal distinctions between
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  men and women. It would require women to be drafted,
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  affect alimony and custody laws, change public
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  accommodations including restrooms, and undermine
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  traditional family roles. Supporters countered
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  that the amendment simply prohibited unjustified
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  discrimination based on sex, but the opposition
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  slowed the movement dramatically. By 1979, the
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  deadline arrived and there were no new ratifications.
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  Congress took action. They extended it three
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  more years until 1982. Still, no additional states
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  ratified it. The ERA expired. And that is according
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  to Congress and within the constitutional guidelines,
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  it means it's a dead amendment. Five states attempted
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  to rescind their ratifications. Nebraska, Tennessee,
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  Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota. And we spoke
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  about this previously, whether rescissions are
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  constitutionally valid still remains unsolved.
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  Congress has never recognized them, and the Supreme
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  Court has never ruled on them. After 1982, most
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  scholars declared the ERA dead. But history had
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  one more twist. The revival came in 2017. A new
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  wave of activism emerged. Nevada, woke up and
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  decided to ratify the amendment in 2017. Illinois
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  followed them in 2018, and Virginia finally ratified
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  it in 2020. Supporters claimed Virginia was the
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  38th state completing the amendment. Opponents
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  argued, nah, the deadline has long since expired.
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  Federal courts largely avoided the constitutional
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  questions offered to dismissing cases on procedural
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  grounds. The archivists declined to certify the
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  amendment, citing a Department of Justice opinion
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  that the deadline had passed. Congress introduced
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  bills to remove the deadline retroactively or
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  restart the process, but none have passed. So
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  where things stand today. 38 states have ratified
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  it at some point. Five states have attempted
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  a rescission. The ERA has not been certified.
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  The federal government does not recognize the
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  28th Amendment, and the legal status remains
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  unresolved. The Supreme Court has never ruled
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  directly on ERA's validity. The debate continues
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  in Congress, in courts, in scholarship, and in
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  public life. Why it still matters? Well, supporters
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  say the ERA would place sex equality explicitly
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  in the Constitution. It strengthens the scrutiny
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  of sex -based discrimination. It provides a stable
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  foundation for equal treatment in employment,
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  education, and law. It protects the rights regardless
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  of shifting political winds. The opponents argue
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  that it could shift authority from the legislature
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  to the courts, affect laws distinguishing men
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  and women, duplicate protections already provided
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  by statute or court rulings, So the practical
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  impact would depend entirely on how courts interpreted
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  it. So did you know that America has spent more
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  than a century debating an amendment that still
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  sits in constitutional limbo? An amendment born
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  in the age of abolitionists, revived in the era
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  of modern feminism, reawakened in the 21st century,
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  and still waiting for the nation to decide its
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  fate. This is Voices of Life, where history lives.
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  Faith leads and truth endures. I'm Pastor David.
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  Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next
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  time. Thank you for joining us on the Voices
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  of Life podcast. Another step in understanding
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  our nation's past and the debates that still
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  shape our future. The Equal Rights Amendment
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  remains unresolved, but its history reminds us
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  that the pursuit of equality is never simple
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  and never finished. Stay connected with Voices
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  of Life as we continue exploring America's story
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  through faith, truth, and reflection. Until next
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  time, may God bless you, and may God bless the
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  United States of America.