Why Doesn’t the Draft Apply to Women?

Parallax News presents big debates broken down into multiple perspectives.

The recent #DraftOurDaughters spoof on social media turned into one of this election’s biggest trolling campaigns. Donald Trump supporters created fake Hillary Clinton propaganda posters vowing to close the “combat gap” and send more women to war. The memes, although purely satire, were in reference to Clinton’s open support for women having to join men in signing up for the Selective Service. As it stands, only men aged 18–26 are required to register, but none have been drafted since 1973. This year the Senate passed a bill to extend the requirement to women, setting the stage for Clinton, if elected, to make the controversial change a reality.

I. Deborah James

Deborah James, the Air Force Secretary, is a proponent of the Selective Service and the inclusion of women in its registry. She believes that, with female soldiers now allowed into military combat and special forces roles, there is no remaining justification for excluding women from draft eligibility. By only demanding that men sign up, James believes it signals a continuation of gender barriers and inequality. As it stands, the Selective Service’s male-only requirement apparently suggests that the armed services still prioritize men. Pragmatically, James also says the Selective Service is a relatively inexpensive “insurance policy” for the U.S. in the event of draft reinstatement. Female eligibility, she argues, helps guarantee full preparedness.

II. Mike Lee

Sen. Mike Lee (R — Utah) is part of a conservative wing of Congress fighting efforts to force women to sign up for the draft. Lee views drafting women as a radical step that shouldn’t be made without far greater consideration. The senator agrees that American women who volunteer are capable soldiers, but he fears those conscripted into war might be at a serious disadvantage. Foreign armies are male-dominated and he says that it is an indisputable fact that men, typically, are larger and more muscular than women. Lee’s conservative allies also point to military research showing imperfect integration and mixed-gender combat groups suffering failures in simulated battles. “It’s one thing for women who want to be in combat and have earned it to do that,” Lee argues, “but forcing women to fight is a totally different matter.”

III. Mike Coffman

Rep. Mike Coffman (R — Colo.) says that, instead of debating whether to extend the Selective Service to women, Congress should be moving to eliminate the system entirely. Maintaining the Selective Service, Coffman notes, costs $23 million annually. The government could be saving that money or spending it elsewhere, he argues. Instead, the funds are being misallocated to prepare for hypothetical conscription, despite no draft having been considered for more than 40 years. Coffman, a combat veteran, says that America hasn’t needed a draft for decades because the all-volunteer system “has given us the most elite fighting force in the history of this country.” Other opponents of the Selective Service note that those who fail to register face significant penalties, including loss of access to federal student loans. This, opponents argue, is more fallout from the obsolete system.

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Further Reading: AP / Wall Street Journal / Daily Signal

This brief was written by Jared Metzker.

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