Should Women Have to Register for the Draft?

The military draft ended in 1973, when the U.S. converted to all-volunteer armed forces. A draft could be revived, however, if the U.S. ever faced a grave military threat. That’s why young men who’ve just turned 18 still must register with the Selective Service, the federal agency responsible for implementing a draft. 

In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled (in Rostker v. Goldberg) that women shouldn’t have to register. At the time, women were barred from combat, so drafting them made little sense. But in 2015, the Pentagon decided to allow women in combat if they could meet the same requirements as men. Does that mean it’s time to require women to register for the draft?

Women should have the same obligation as men to register with the Selective Service. If we want equality for women, we must recognize that rights come with responsibilities.

Currently, all American men ages 18 to 25 must register with the Selective Service so that they may be drafted into the military in times of national need. But women have no similar requirement. Since women have served in key roles in the military for decades, this disparity makes little sense. It has been particularly unfair since 2015, when combat roles in the U.S. military were officially opened to anyone who could meet the physical requirements, regardless of gender. Since then, the women who have graduated from Army Ranger School have shown that gender is not a barrier to military combat service.

Last year, lawmakers tried to include a provision in the defense spending bill requiring women to register for the draft. Unfortunately, the version of the bill that eventually passed did not include this change. But lawmakers like myself who believe strongly that this is the right thing to do will continue to propose this change in the future.  

While we’re discussing how to make the Selective Service more fair, we should also talk about how to make it more meaningful. We need a national service requirement for all young people, not just a system for drafting them into the military. Such a requirement could include working in public schools, rebuilding infrastructure, or environmental conservation projects. It would be an investment both in young people and in our country.

I will continue to argue that women’s obligations should mirror those of men. As women have proved for generations, the desire and willingness to serve in our nation’s military is not limited by gender. Women are equal citizens of this nation with an equal responsibility to answer the call to military service in times of great national need.

—CONGRESSWOMAN JACKIE SPEIER,

Democrat of California

The Selective Service is about national security in a time of catastrophic emergency, not women’s rights. The system, which currently registers all 18- to 25-year-old American men, is a relatively low-cost insurance policy that serves as a backup to America’s all-volunteer military. If there were a devastating attack on America, perhaps from multiple directions, the need to fight back might exceed the capability of our all-volunteer military.

If Congress approves legislation to register women for the draft, then any call for draftees would have to include women in equal numbers. This would be counterproductive. Most women who serve in the U.S. military are not on the front lines of combat; they serve mostly in support roles. But the purpose of military conscription, which would be put into effect only during a national emergency, isn’t to add support troops; its purpose is to replace troops killed or wounded in battle.

The draft is about national security in an emergency, not women’s rights.

Theories about equality break down here. Because of physical differences that will not change, the Selective Service System would have to divert scarce time and resources to evaluate and train thousands of women just to find the small percentage who might be minimally qualified for fighting units such as the infantry. Even though some exceptional women might qualify, the fact remains that most women cannot meet physical standards for combat units, while most men can.  

Instead of concentrating on men, who can be rapidly trained to fight in combat, a draft that included women would simply jam up the process of creating a battle-ready force. It would weaken, not strengthen, military readiness in a time of national emergency. 

Patriotic women have always served their country in times of national emergency, and they always will. Requiring women to register for the draft would create a political crisis and a paralyzing administrative overload that would weaken our armed forces at the worst possible time. We shouldn’t do it.

—ELAINE DONNELLY,

President, Center for Military Readiness