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Women Should Not Be a Part of the Next U.S. Draft

Photo by Israel Palacio on Unsplash

As tension rises throughout the country and the world, the question of whether or not women should be drafted has been brought up. The last American draft was back in 1973 for the Vietnam War. In 2016, the United States said they had no intention of moving away from the all-volunteer force. Last year, however, Congress was leaning toward having women register for the Selective Service System, which was used in the last draft. Fortunately, the idea was dropped. Many women who would be drafted would all face the same challenges, such as physical differences from men and a potential negative impact on family dynamics and structures. Adding women to a draft would not reduce the time or cost required to expand the military either. Instead of “forcing” women by drafting them, the United States is better off continuing to offer females the opportunity to join the military, so those who wish to join may do as they please.

The military requires a lot of physical strength, a biological disadvantage for many women. Soldiers are required to maintain high levels of physical fitness. Most women who plan on heading into the army work toward higher levels of fitness throughout their whole lives. This becomes a challenge because most randomly selected women are nowhere near the required physical needs. According to the National Library of Medicine, women are known to be at a physiological disadvantage when competing against men because they have smaller muscle mass and more body fat. Women are also more prone to skeletal injuries. While physical training can increase some physical attributes of women, it cannot eliminate the other disadvantages. Data has shown that gender-related differences will affect women’s performances in combat.

Though it is a controversial topic in today’s society, women are still the primary caregivers to young children. The Institute for Family Studies states that women are more commonly known to nurture and raise kids, schedule doctor’s appointments, help with homework and pack lunches. Some people often forget many women dream of one day becoming moms and raising children, drafting them could permanently take away this dream for many. It is important women are not stripped of these maternal duties because that could end up altering the whole process of a family dynamic.

Overall, drafting women into the military is not the best idea. Many women are not cut out for the lifestyle of military life and would struggle a significant amount due to the physical differences between women and men. Drafting women would also have drastic effects on the everyday lives of many families. Therefore, it is best to stick to the volunteer service system instead of forcing a draft amongst our nation.