Same but unequal

Last week a federal judge ruled that a military draft for men only is unconstitutional. Before reading the article, I predicted that the case had been brought by a “men’s rights” organization: it did that characteristic thing where it sounds like equality but actually makes things worse for women. My prediction proved to be correct.

The ruling is being discussed in terms of three issues: “Is it okay to allow women in the armed forces?”, “Is it okay to discriminate against men?”, and oddly enough, “Is it discrimination against women to not require them to register for Selective Service?”

The Department of Defense says that if women have to register, women in the armed forces will have more of a sense of being included. This applies whether there’s a draft or not. If women can theoretically be drafted, that makes a statement that their service is valued. But this one benefit doesn’t mean there are no drawbacks.

A fourth question is just as important.

Do women have more right than men to opt out of military service?

I’m not claiming women’s lives are more valuable than men’s. Maybe they are but that’s not currently the point. Conscription is worse for women in several ways:

• Military service is more dangerous for women. Assuming the same duties, they face the same risk from the enemy. Then on top of that, they also have a bigger risk of getting harmed by their own male comrades in arms. That isn’t even the kind of sacrifice we should expect someone to make for their country. It isn’t cowardly to choose to avoid that risk.
• Women are more likely to be conscientious objectors. Don’t mistake me for a pacifist myself, but the option of conscientious objection is at least as essential to democracy as voting. The standards for conscientious objection are more difficult than they should be: my parents’ friend knew a Quaker who was killed in action in Vietnam. If we ever draft women, this problem will become worse, statistically speaking.
• Women are probably less likely to thrive in a military setting. They tend to object to hierarchies. Taking orders and doing chores might look to them like being oppressed by men.
• By age 18, women are more likely to already have clear plans for something else they want to do with their lives as adults. They’re more likely to be planning on going to college. If allowed to make their own decisions, they’re at less risk of accomplishing nothing or behaving badly. They have more to lose by having their lives disrupted, and less to gain by getting whipped into shape by a drill instructor.
• Most importantly, women already have their own equivalent of conscription. They too already have a risk of involuntary service to the duties society assigns to their gender. This even happens during peacetime. Women already have so much less freedom than men. Why should we begrudge the one freedom they have that we don’t? That isn’t just unethical, it’s illogical.

If there’s never another draft again, that’s gender-neutral and good for everyone. If women ever get drafted, that’s gender-neutral and worse for women.

If we always give men and women the same thing, sometimes what women get is worse.