U.S. Senator Josh Hawley will introduce an amendment this week to remove a provision from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that requires women to register for the draft.
In the current proposed draft of the 2022 NDAA, Section 511 is titled “Modernization of the Selective Service System.”
The section amends the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA) to require “every person” to register for the draft. Section 511 also amends sections of the MSSA in several ways:
- “By striking ‘male citizen’ and inserting ‘citizen’;
- By striking ‘male person’ and inserting ‘person’;
- By striking ‘present himself’ and inserting ‘appear’;
- And by striking ‘so long as he’ and inserting ‘so long as such alien’.”
The senator’s proposed one-page amendment to the NDAA is just three words long: “Strike section 511.”
“It is wrong to force our daughters, mothers, wives, and sisters to fight our wars,” said Senator Hawley in a press release.
“Our country is extremely grateful for the brave women who have volunteered to serve our country with and alongside our fighting forces. They have played a vital role in defending America at every point in our nation’s history. But volunteering for military service is not the same as being forced into it, and no woman should be compelled to do so.”
The issue of drafting women seems to have gone under the radar for the past few months, with little national consideration or debate.
Yet, the proposal stands a decent chance of becoming law after a Congressionally ordered commission backed the idea, and a U.S. Senate committee voted in favor of the proposal 21-5 earlier this year.
Focus on the Family continues to stand strongly against requiring women to register for the draft. We’ve written previously:
- “The purpose of the military is to protect our country and win wars. It shouldn’t be a place for social experimentation.”
- “Both biblically and historically, men are the ones charged with protecting and laying down their lives in defense of their country and fellow citizens.”
- “Physiologically, there are major differences that leave men, as a rule, much better suited for engaging in the demands of warfare.”
- “Cases of sexual assault and misbehavior increase when men and women are confined in close quarters in a battlefield setting.”
The Military Selective Service Act currently applies to men ages 18-25. Should the NDAA become law as currently proposed, the draft would likely extend to young women in that age group as well.
Young women and their concerned parents would be right to ask: will there be any exemptions from the draft for young mothers?
And what if, should the U.S. experience another draft, both the mother and father of a child are drafted?
These are a couple of issues that more national debate and deliberation on the topic could shed some light on.
Related articles:
Drafting Our Daughters? U.S. Commission Recommends Women Be Forcefully Conscripted
Senators Propose Requiring Women to Register for Military Draft
Senate Committee Approves Defense Bill that Requires Women to Register for the Draft
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