Author: Kathryn Stanchi

Why are Feminist Judgments Necessary?

Last week marked the passing of Phyllis Schlafly, who arguably did more to undermine the equal rights of women than any other woman in United States history. As most know, Mrs. Schlafly tirelessly campaigned against the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution (“ERA”). First drafted in 1923, the ERA stated that “[e]quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” The ERA failed to obtain ratification in the requisite number of states and Mrs. Schlafly is usually seen as a key architect of its demise. Mrs. Schlafly’s death made me ponder what American law, particularly American Constitutional law, would have looked like without her – that is, with an ERA. Would an ERA have allowed Title VII to have a bona fide occupational qualification, a provision that says that sex is a genuine job requirement for some employment? Would Geduldig v. Aiello (1974), the case finding that pregnancy discrimination was not an equal protection violation, have been decided differently …