1979 Jimmy Carter - Extending Deadline for ERA Ratification

In 1979, under significant pressure from groups that supporting equal rights for women, President Carter urged Congress to grant an extension to the deadline for obtaining ratification for the Equal Rights Amendment.  If ratified, it would become the 27th amendment guaranteeing the  "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."  

On March  22, after passing both houses of Congress the Equal Rights Amendment  was sent to states for ratification. Initially, the ERA had good momentum and received 22 of the 38 ratifications needed in the first year and 8 more in 1973.  But in the following years, opponents of ERA including conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly and states-rights advocates began to raise their voices against the ERA causing many states postponed consideration or defeated ratification bills.  In 1974 there were only three new ratifications, followed by just one in 1975 and zero in 1976.   Concerns were raised over the rights of women to be supported by her husband, draft concerns and federal  power grabs.  Debates and demonstrations became wide spread, but ratification did not.  In 1976, with three years left, feminists like Betty Friedman could be found debating opponents like Phyllis Schlafly on Good Morning America. At the end of one show, the host closed with this remark:   "I'm sorry we run out of time, I'd like to invite you to come back, uh we have until 1979 to discuss this matter".  The public debate did continue, but the requirement that 38 states ratify the amendment was not reached, and ERA advocates appealed to Congress for an indefinite extension.  Under significant  pressure, Congress compromised and granted an extension until June 30, 1982.  President Carter was solidly behind these efforts and promised that the full resources of his Administration would be dedicated to the effort of ratifying the amendment.  In Carter's 1979, State of the Union Address, he spoke these words.

"One of the overriding concerns of my Administration is ensuring equal opportunity for women. Last year we worked closely with the Congress to extend the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment until June 30, 1982. That extension will provide a greater opportunity to ensure ratification of this long-overdue Amendment. I will continue to dedicate myself, as well as the full resources of my Administration, to the ratification effort. 

This is not a battle that we can afford to lose. I am determined to win. The opposition to the Amendment cannot be solidly based on an understanding of its legal effect. The Amendment will do nothing more—nor less—than provide equality to more than one-half of America's population. I am confident that with the active support of the members of Congress from States which have not yet ratified, we can achieve ratification of ERA. I urge you to join the effort to provide women, at long last, with equal rights under the law."

Despite President Carter's determination and promise of dedication, the fight to ratify the ERA continued to stall.  Two years later President Reagan was elected President and the political winds shifted to back the conservatives.  The Equal Rights Amendment failed, needing only 3 more states to ratify.  One of those states was Illinois which changed it's rule to require a three-fifths majority to ratify an amendment.  In 1982, the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced again as it would be for many years following, but without any success.   Proponents of ERA lost their battle, but did not give up the fight.   They found an alternate strategy based upon what is called the "Madison Amendment" passed in Congress in 1789, but not ratified until 1992. In Coleman v. Miler, the Supreme Court used this amendment to rule that the question of timeliness of an amendment can be left up to Congress's discretion.  This opened the door to the possibility that if the Equal Rights Amendment can be ratified by three more states, then Congress can take up legislation to extend the deadline indefinitely and accept the ratification making ERA the law of the land.

Arguments Made For and Against ERA

Proponents of ERA argued that it would stop sex discrimination in employment, as well as in mortgage and financing applications.  They also argued that the amendment would help women obtain social security support for the work they do as home makers, and insure pension rights they deserve.   In 1979, President Carter argued that the opposition to the amendment was based on a misunderstanding of it's legal effect, and promised to champion the 'right of women to choose their roles in society", including that of homemaker.  Opponents of the Bill argue that amendment have wide reaching impact on many issues.  Phyllis Schlafly, one of amendment's biggest opponents argued that it would do the following.

1. Deny the freedom of choice for girls to attend a single sex school.  As part of larger program to bring about a gender neutral society, it would make single sex schools illegal.
2. Expose the potential for women to be drafted into the military and put into combat positions involuntarily.
3. Require that Co-ed bathrooms be mandatory in public places including grade schools.
4. Remove the right to discriminate based on sex, opening the door to litigation allowing for gay marriage.

In addition, opponents of the bill argued throughout the years that ERA legislation would make any restrictions on tax-payer funded abortions illegal.  In 2000, the National Right to Life (NRL) organization defended the claims that the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment would, if adopted lead to an invalidation of current restrictions on tax-payer funded abortions.   According to Douglas Johnson of the NRL, the ACLU and other pro-abortion groups have argued that for 15 years or more the proper legal interpretation of the 1972 ERA bill would invalidate all restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions, and make it so that abortions are treated like any other medical procedure.  This was confirmed in 1998 by  the New Mexico Supreme Court ruling that stated that a ban on tax-payer funded abortion  “undoubtedly singles out for less favorable treatment a gender-linked condition that is unique to women.”

In the 1970s, the arguments that Phyllis Schalfly was criticized as being extreme, and many of her concerns were scoffed at.  One in particular was the concern over co-ed bathrooms.   In response feminist Betty Friedan called it a "silly bathroom argument".  Here is her full statement from 1976; the concern may have seemed silly, but not so much today.

"Let's have some sense about this silly bathroom argument ... I mean ... the bathroom argument is, is, is, is ... it absolutely symbolizes all of the nonsense that is being spread to create false fears about the Equal Rights Amendment.  There is nothing in the Equal Rights Amendment that will effect the privacy of the way people go the toilet.  Nothing, nothing, nothing whatsoever."  (Good morning America,  1976)

Friedan went on to describe how in American homes, family members share one bathroom.  She stated that the only way, that the amendment would ever apply is if a woman was denied a job because a company refused to make proper bathroom accommodations or allow her to share a single bathroom traditionally used by the men in the office.  In 1976 she called arguments like this "hysterical".  President Carter argued that that the opposition "cannot be solidly based on an understanding of its legal effect", while others continued to call it an attempt to create a "gender neutral" society.   Whether it was a misunderstanding that led to the hysteria, or a genuine concern from the right, ERA proponents were unable to find three additional states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.  Yet, today, they fight continues on.

References

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). Jimmy Carter: The State of the Union Annual Message to the Congress. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32735 [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].

Equalrightsamendment.org. (2018). ERA: History. [online] Available at: http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/history.htm [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].

Good morning America, 1976 with Phillys Schalfly and Betty Friedan. (2018). [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WncN6PWEMGo [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].

Nrlc.org. (2018). The ERA and Abortion: Not So Simple | National Right to Life. [online] Available at: https://www.nrlc.org/site/federal/era/eraoped/ [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].