The ERA and Phyllis Schlafly

Question

What is the ERA, and how did Phyllis Schlafly contribute in counteracting the movement to ratify it?

Answer 1

After the decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973, a movement for the ERA began to grow. The ERA, or the Equal Rights Amendment, is a proposed amendment to the Constitution which would guarantee equal rights of the sexes. When proposed in 1972 it wasn’t considered particularly controversial, with even support from President Richard Nixon and it passed easily through both houses of Congress. 35 states out of the needed 38 quickly ratified it (notably virtually none in the South or particularly mormon states). Phyllis Schlafly led a conservative movement called Stop ERA, which is considered to have caused the fatal blow that resulted in the amendment still not being ratified to this day. Representing a gendered opposition to the ERA, Schlafly argued not on the basis of defending male rights, rather that it would be harmful to women by removing special protections for them, creating barriers to female advancement, and traditional family values, such as being housewives and stay-at-home mothers, would be put in jeopardy. Stop ERA also argued that the ERA would lead to more rights for LGBTQ people, which was correct in a sense because it would require a sense of gender neutrality, resulting in it being difficult to uphold bans on same-sex marriage. Ultimately, they were successful in their movement.