Do 18 Year Old Woman Have To Register For The Draft?

New legislation would require women, similar men, to sign upward for potential typhoon

Women accept been serving at all levels of the military since 2013.

Capitol Colina -- A U.S. Senate commission has approved legislation that would, if enacted, crave immature women to register for Selective Service alongside men, and in the rare issue of a state of war or other national emergency, be drafted for the get-go time in the nation'south history.

During the Vietnam War -- between 1964 and 1973 -- nearly 2 one thousand thousand men were drafted in the U.S., according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. But after, in 1973, facing a tide of opposition to the controversial draft, President Richard Nixon officially concluded military conscription, and the U.S. established an all-volunteer force.

But fifty-fifty though the draft is no more, near young men, including immigrants, are required to annals with the Military machine Selective Service in case conscription becomes necessary once again. Federal law requires registration when a man turns eighteen years of historic period, and immigrants are required to register within thirty days of arriving in the land.

The new legislation, authored past Senate Armed Services Commission Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., would remove whatever reference to "male" in current law, leaving women on an equal playing field.

Simply not everyone is on lath.

Committee member Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced his opposition to the measure, tweeting Friday, "American women take heroically served in and alongside our fighting forces since our nation'due south founding - It's one thing to allow American women to choose this service, merely it's quite some other to force it upon our daughters, sisters, and wives. Missourians feel strongly that compelling women to fight our wars is wrong so do I."

Women have been serving at all levels of the military since 2013 when the Pentagon opened up front-line, ground combat positions to them, and supporters of the Reed legislation say information technology's loftier time that women sign up, particularly since the service has changed dramatically since the Vietnam era.

"This isn't our granddad'south military," a Senate adjutant close to the matter told ABC News in an interview, noting that should a draft be instituted, the greater need nowadays would be for more educated conscripts in the specialty branches, like those with an expertise in cyber, technology and Stalk, as well as doctors and lawyers.

"And so, while a typhoon is highly unlikely in many of our lifetimes, none of that raises the same arguments virtually physicality -- all of the things that were used to debate for a male-only draft," the aide said. "It's a dissimilar earth."

When asked if President Joe Biden supports the change, a White House aide pointed to a September 2020 Military Officers Association of America candidate forum in which then-candidate Biden said, "The United States does not need a larger military, and we don't need a draft at this time...I would, nevertheless, ensure that women are also eligible to register for the Selective Service Arrangement so that men and women are treated every bit in the event of future conflicts."

In a Supreme Court instance earlier this yr, the ACLU challenged the constitutionality of an all-male draft legislation, just the acting solicitor full general pointed to probable action from Congress in arguing that the high court agree off making a sentence, which information technology somewhen acceded to.

The Reed legislation is office of a massive defense policy mensurate known as the National Defence Authorization Human action, a highly popular piece of legislation giving raises to U.Southward. troops, funding many new military systems, weapons upgrades and more. It is considered must-laissez passer legislation, and it is expected that the new selective service requirement for women will remain in place, according to the aide.

The Senate nearly passed the legislation back in 2017, merely instead a national commission was created to report the effect, along with a wider mandate to look at national public service in general.

That National Commission on Military, National, & Public Service last twelvemonth came out in favor of the Reed position, and the senator took his current legislation directly from the commission findings.

"In reviewing the question of whether Selective Service registration should include women, the Commission seriously considered a wide range of deeply felt moral, legal, and practical arguments and explored the available empirical evidence," the panel's report read.

"The Commission concluded that the fourth dimension is right to extend Selective Service System registration to include men and women, between the ages of xviii and 26. This is a necessary and off-white step, making it possible to draw on the talent of a unified Nation in a time of national emergency," the report concluded.

Taken together, the Senate adjutant said, the sentiment was, "If we're going to have a draft - a selective service organization - and so women have to be involved."

"The recognition is that nosotros're probably not going to take a armed forces draft, but if we do, then nosotros recognize that you lot can't fight with one hand tied backside your dorsum," the aide added.

Plus, the aide noted, back in 2016 when the initial idea was being seriously considered, all four service chiefs testified in favor of adding women.

Congress for years has shot downwards the idea of mandatory registration for women, but times are changing. The NDAA -- with the requirement in it -- passed the Senate War machine Committee 23-2 this week.

If the legislation survives, the measure would get into effect ane year afterward enactment of the new police.

ABC New' Justin Gomez contributed to this report.