Equal Rights Amendment
1. Main Arguments a. Since current sex discrimination laws are not based
on
constitutional amendments, are poorly enforced and are subject
to
interpretation. An Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution is the only
way to
ensure the consistent enforcement of laws protecting the rights of
women. b.
Since there is no Constitutional protection for women are
underpaid in regards
to men in similar positions. An Equal Rights Amendment
to the Constitution would
end the underpaid and undervalued status of women
in the workforce. c. Since
Laws to protect women from discrimination due
to pregnancy are not protected by
a constitutional amendment. An Equal Rights
Amendment to the Constitution would
guarantee the integrity of a women's body
unto herself. d. Since elderly women
are economically discriminated against
due to both their sex and economic
situations. An Equal Rights Amendment to
the Constitution would protect against
sex discrimination in pensions,
insurance and social security. e. Since
discrimination against people due to
their sex occurs in many basic areas. There
is not an amendment protecting
the rights of an individual regardless of sexual
orientation. An Equal Rights
Amendment to the Constitution would protect against
discrimination due to
sexual orientation. 2. Arguments in Standard Form a.
Since...Laws to
prevent sex discrimination are ephemeral, or short-lived
And...hard won
laws against sex discrimination do not rest on strong
Constitutional
foundation And...current laws contain loopholes, are
misinterpreted and
ignored And...current laws may be weakened by amendment or
repealed
Therefore...An Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution is the only
way to
ensure the consistent enforcement of laws protecting the rights of women.
b.
Since...Women are discriminated against in the workforce And...women
still
remain underpaid in comparison to their male counterparts in identical
jobs
And...federal laws do not address issues of pay equity for
comparable worth
Therefore...An Equal Rights Amendment to the
Constitution would end the
underpaid and undervalued status of women in the
workforce. c.
Since...Stereotyping and discriminating against pregnant
women and mothers
interferes with a women's right to control her body
And...women are not
guaranteed job protection and reinstatement due to
maternity leave And...there
is no constitutional protection for the historic
Row v. Wade, leaving the right
of a woman to control her body in jeopardy
Therefore... An Equal Rights
Amendment to the Constitution would
guarantee the integrity of a woman's body
unto herself. d. Since...Sex
discrimination contributes to the economic plight
of older women And...a
majority of the elderly poor are women And...women are
paid less in benefits
due to sex discrimination And...governmental programs are
based on a system,
which does not reflect current societal standards
Therefore... An Equal
Rights Amendment to the Constitution would protect against
sex discrimination
in pensions, insurance and Social Security. e.
Since...Discrimination
based on sexual preference occurs in basic areas of life
And...there is
no constitutional guarantee of rights regardless of sexual
orientation
Therefore...An Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution would
protect
against discrimination due to sexual orientation. 3. An Argument
for
assessment (B) a. Fallacies 1.Casual Oversimplification 2.Faulty
Analogy
3.Argument by Innuendo b. Evidence/ Credibility 1.Women are paid
less in jobs
that are traditionally women's. 2.Women are paid less in jobs
that are
standardized. 3.Women are paid less in jobs in which they make up
the majority.
c. How the Argument would be made stronger. 1. The majority of
the work force is
male. A majority, even in an entirely equal setting will
still be a majority.
The argument of unequal pay across the entire
economy is based on a Casual
Oversimplification of the percentages. 2. A
comparison of pay/worth based on two
entirely different job descriptions is a
faulty analogy. 3. Worth is something
that is subjective. There is no way to
create total equality when the standard
is subjective. This is an argument by
innuendo. Who Needs an Equal Rights
amendment? You do! Begins by addressing
the fact that there is not an Equal
Rights Amendment to the Constitution
and the inherent weaknesses that this
causes for equal rights laws. A law
gets it's strength from the amendment that
created it. In the absence of an
amendment a law is subject to inconsistent
interpretation and enforcement.
This is perhaps the most relevant and convincing
argument in this article
because it is based on fact. Amendments to the
Constitution act as a
guarantee to society against dramatic policy shifts.
Unequal pay offered
to women with regards to standardized jobs leads itself to
promoting an Equal
Rights Amendment. The equal opportunity for both men and
women to seek and
hold positions in the workplace must be protected. Unequal pay
for the same
work is not representative of an equal workplace. A woman's body is
just
that, her body. No one has the right to restrict her freedom to it.
By
limiting the protection given to pregnant women and mothers, the
workplace
becomes unequal. Males have an absolute advantage in regards to the
time needed
for pregnancy and motherhood. With out an Equal Rights Amendment
the workplace
cannot be of equal opportunity when the sexes are so distinctly
dissimilar.
Older women suffer the most from the lack of an Equal Rights
Amendment. A
majority of the elderly poor are women. The status of the
elderly is a result of
the views of several generations. Low wages combined
with low social benefits
add to the poverty of this generation of women.
Equal rights legislation would
help the situation of these women by adjusting
the standards by which women are
both held to and judged. The regulations
that govern insurance companies do not
fairly address the equality of women.
Unequal insurance premiums and payments to
women demonstrate the unfairness
of the current system. If women were truly
equal, insurance standards would
also be equal. The Social Security system that
was founded in 1940 still
bases its policy on the cross section of society
during that time. Because of
the inability for the system to adjust according to
changing societal
conditions it has now become unfair and needs to adjust to
meet the needs of
women. Discrimination due to sexual preference occurs in every
aspect of
life, yet is not something that is protected by an amendment to
the
Constitution. The basis for judgments on sexual orientation is based
within
ignorance and societal conditioning. The arguments that are based on
fact and
supported by evidence are all strong and convincing. They use
figures that
portray a clear picture of the inequality that women must face
in the workforce.
Because of this factual basis the arguments for an
Equal Rights Amendment are
convincing. The opposite is true for the arguments
that are supported by
questionable evidence and opinion. By using figures
that do not truly represent
the workplace in today's society, the argument is
weakened. The weakening of the
argument is due mainly to the use of fallacies
to influence the reader. Casual
Oversimplification is used to classify
the status of women in the workplace. The
amount that women are paid in
comparison to men is not further justified through
an equal cross section and
equal number of respondents. A percentage is being
used to possibly compare
two completely different cross sections. The use of a
Faulty Analogy in
regards to the availability of pensions for women also does
little to help
that argument. The fact that women are only half as likely to
receive a
pension means little unless you also compare the types of jobs where
the
pension is offered. Comparing apples to oranges does little to help
this
argument. Finally the author goes so far as to employ an Argument by
Innuendo.
Appealing for the rights of a woman to control her body the
author goes so far
as to blame the high number of pregnancies on restrictive
apportion legislation.
The idea of mandatory pregnancy due to the
restrictive ness of law is offensive.
There is no cure for cancer and it
would not be right to withhold treatment for
this disease. There is however a
highly reliable means to avoid
pregnancy...abstinence. The author attempts to
use the results of
irresponsibility to validate the cause for equal rights.
By combining well
founded arguments with those that are based on little
except emotion the author
goes far to argue for equal rights legislation. The
collusion of facts with
emotion makes the argument more personal to the
reader. This mix tends to
confuse the reader leading him or her toward the
conclusion that the Equal
Rights Amendment is not only needed but also
long over due.