Washington D.C., Jan 22, 2021 / 10:05 am
Members of Congress are looking to resurrect a constitutional amendment banning sex discrimination-one that Catholic groups have warned could promote abortion and transgender ideology.
On Thursday, members of both chambers of Congress introduced a joint resolution to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
Originally approved by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification, with a deadline of 1979, the proposed constitutional amendment forbids sex discrimination. It states that "[e]quality of rights under law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
Catholic groups, including the Virginia Catholic Conference and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), have warned that the language in the amendment could be broadly interpreted to include protection for various issues including abortion and gender-transition surgery.