1. It requires a three-fourths ratification from the states to become law.
The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed in 1923. It wouldn’t be passed as a possible amendment until 1972. Because there is a 75% requirement for ratification by the states to make an amendment to the Constitution, 38 states must agree with the proposal for it to become law. Congress set a deadline of 1982 for legislatures across the country to ratify the amendment. By the time the deadline expired, only 35 had endorsed the idea.
If Congress were to pass another version of the Equal Rights Amendment today, then that process would need to start over. There is still no guarantee that there would be enough support at the state level to approve the amendment.
2. Five states have actually rescinded their ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
In the 1970s, there were five states that decided to rescind or withdraw their ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. They were Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota. What is interesting about the Constitution is that it only speaks to the power of a state to ratify an amendment. It does not suggest that there is a power in place to rescind this authorization. The current precedents would suggest that it would not be possible to do so. If another state were to join the 37 who have already said yes to this idea, then it would likely create another legal showdown that would need to be settled in the Supreme Court.
It should also be noted that a federal court ruled that offering a time extension for the amendment was unconstitutional and that states could withdraw their previous support, creating a different precedent to consider. The Supreme Court only ruled that the entire point was moot because there was not a complete ratification.
3. It would not protect people who do not identify as male or female.
Because the Equal Rights Amendment was originally crafted over 40 years ago, the recent issues of gender identification would not be included in the final text after ratification in the amendment’s current form. The goal is to provide women with equal protections, which is a necessary first step. Individuals who identify as non-binary, agender, or facing androgyny choices may not receive the same protections under the law. There is also the possibility that transgender individuals who complete their transition may not qualify because of their “change” from one gender to another.
4. The amendment could take away some of the benefits that women enjoy.
Phyllis Schalfly does not apologize for her opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. Even in 2007, when writing a piece for the Los Angeles Times, she said that the process of granting equality should not involve taking away the privileges that women have fought so hard to earn in the first place.
“The amendment would require women to be drafted into military combat any time men were conscripted,” she wrote. “[It] would abolish the presumption that the husband should support his wife and take away Social Security benefits for wives and widows. It would also give federal courts and the federal government enormous new powers to reinterpret every law that makes a distinction based on gender, such as those related to marriage, divorce, and alimony.”
5. It could create fewer barriers to prematurely ending human life potentiality.
Whether you support the idea of abortion, are against it, or find yourself somewhere in the middle, this medical procedure does create an ending to that human life potentiality. There are times when it may be medically necessary. Some may pursue such an action because of their personal preferences or needs. When looking at how the ERA would address this issue, there is an excellent chance based on previous state-based rulings that it would expand opportunities where permitted. Just as this option was listed as a potential advantage, it could also be a potential disadvantage depending on what your perspective happens to be.
A Final Thought on the Pros and Cons of the Equal Rights Amendment
It is easy to get bogged down in the semantics of an argument about a specific piece of legislation, forgetting that we are all basically on the same side. Well over 95% of the U.S. population supports the idea of ensuring that women receive the same rights as women guaranteed in the structure of our government. How we decide to make that happen is our debate.
Some suggest that the 14th Amendment does enough, while others say it is not enough. There are benefits to the ERA that would be helpful, but it could also provide a lot of uncertainty. Even the chance to pass it now is uncertain since the deadline given to it is in the resolution language that proposes the text instead of the amendment itself.
Explanation: source - https://connectusfund.org/7-strongest-pros-and-cons-of-the-equal-rights-amendment
