Drafting women: Congress says no to drafting women for military duty

If women in the military are capable of carrying out combat roles should they also be required to register for the draft as young men are?

That is a question that is not easy to answer.

Congress this week dropped a provision from a major defense bill that would have required women to register for the draft. The decision was hailed as the right one by some conservatives who say government is going too far in blurring the lines between the sexes. Many of those critics also are against having women in combat roles, saying it will ultimately reduce the strength of America's military.

But the government has decided that women should be allowed to enter combat, that is now the law of the land. Shouldn't they therefore be subject to the same draft registration that young men are? As we said, it is a difficult question and depends on how you view the roles of the sexes in society as a whole.

The usual liberal thought is of equality of rights in all arenas, including military service. Women deserve the same rights as men and therefore the same responsibilities, the thinking goes.

Many conservatives, however, disagree. Women by nature have a different role in society, they say, and should not be subjected to required military service. They say the issue needs to be debated at length before any law allowing women to be drafted is passed.

Does America want its daughters forced into the military if the need arises? The point may be moot since most military leaders say that an all-volunteer military is far preferable to one filled with conscripts. But the issue is not dead and will arise again, we are sure.

Published in Editorials on December 1, 2016 10:53 AM