Woman and the Draft

In 1973 the United States discontinued the draft, moving to an all-volunteer military force. However, things could change if there is a showdown with Iran and the American military runs out of man-power. If there is another military draft, it is likely that it would be different than all drafts in the past, in so far as the United States Military would not merely be seeking man-power, but also woman-power.

This is a concern raised by Ron Paul in the last Republican debate. He expressed concern that, given the character of America’s wars, the government could conceivably find itself in a situation where they would have to call a draft and, given the push for equality, it is likely that a future draft would apply to women as well as men.

Already numerous politicians are arguing that women should be conscripted to military service in any future draft. For example, Senator Chris Dodd has commented, “I think if you're going to have registration it ought to be across lines here. You don't just ask one gender to bear the responsibility. So in my view that [drafting women into the military] would be the fair thing today.”

Former Senator Mike Gravel has argued similarly, stating, “Of course women should go into the draft if we have a draft. They should register also. What's the difference?”

Because our society has been pushing the agenda of equality and androgyny for so long, it has become politically correct to deny that there is any difference between men and women. Hence, Senator Gravel’s comment, “What's the difference?” However, there is a huge difference between drafting men for mandatory service and drafting women.

In our current voluntary system, the women who choose to become soldiers tend to already be those who possess the characteristics of strength and toughness. However, it would be wrong to expect all American women to put themselves in that situation, not least because this would violate the conscience of many Christian women who hold views about role differentiation. It would also not be safe, given that the God-given male instinct to protect women could easily lead to compromised battlefield scenarios. One reason for this is that women who are captured in battle can be raped and sexually abused in ways that do not even bare thinking about. Now this does not deter some women from entering the military anyway, but that doesn't mean that all eligible women in America should be forced to during a future draft. This is one of these topsy turvy issues in which those who want to protect women from the horrors of battle (and therefore to confine any future draft to males) are being accused of being anti-woman.