A new lawsuit, challenging the U.S. Selective Service System a.k.a. the draft), was filed last week by a group of Massachusetts teens who feel that women should be required to register. Civil liberties lawyer Harvey Schwartz, who is father and stepfather to two of the plaintiffs, agreed to legally represent them in exchange for their legal research skills.

The last suit to challenge the draft’s exclusion of women was rejected by the US Supreme Court in 1981. In Rostker v. Goldberg, the Court ruled that Congress could exclude women from the draft.

Today women have a larger role in the military than ever before, serving in nearly every type of unit. An article in the winter 2002 issue of The Women’s Quarterly discusses the reality of a sex-neutral military.

We’ll keep you posted on this one…