Last month, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu collaborated in an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, thrusting America into the middle of a centuries-long conflict. Almost immediately, my TikTok feed filled with posts and videos expressing fear of a U.S. military draft. One user asked, “Trump dodged the draft—why can’t we?” Another wondered, “Why are we getting into business that is not ours?” With tensions rising and misinformation about a draft spreading on social media, young people—and especially women—are left speculating: Who will be called to serve, and who will be left behind?
While recent statements from both U.S. and Iranian officials suggest a preference for negotiations over direct military conflict, it begs the question: What happens if the U.S. formally declares war—on Iran or another nation? If a draft is implemented, who will be forced to serve? And what happens to those who don’t?
Who Gets Drafted?
The Selective Service—commonly known as “the draft”—requires male citizens and immigrants to register upon turning 18. It creates a database the Department of Defense can pull from “in the event of a national emergency.” If both the president and Congress authorize a draft, a lottery is held and broadcast live. Men are selected at random from the database and must report for service within 193 days of the national emergency declaration.
Stephen Rohde—host of the Ms. podcast Speaking Freely: a First Amendment Podcast, a constitutional scholar, retired civil rights lawyer and political activist—says that while Trump hasn’t explicitly supported a draft, he has voiced support for increased military funding. Instituting a draft could be a pathway to achieve that.
Rohde warns that Trump could frame the situation in Iran, or a different one, as a national emergency to justify such measures—just as he previously used the rhetoric of an “invasion of immigrants” to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles.
Ironically, Rohde notes, a draft might garner Democratic support, too. Wealthier white Americans are far less likely to serve in the military. Some progressive lawmakers, such as former House representative Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), believe that mandatory service could help counter the discriminatory nature of the current volunteer military, which disproportionately enlists young men, low-income populations and people of color. For many, military service is one of the few available routes to education, employment and job training.
However, the draft is also unequal. Wealthier white Americans can more easily obtain deferral or dismissal from the call to serve. This occurred during wars fought by the U.S. in both Korea and Vietnam.
“If we have a draft, that may either exacerbate the problem—or, ironically, introduce a degree of equality into the system,” Rohde says. “There’s something democratic and egalitarian about the draft. If it is evenhandedly applied, it will reach every American family that has children of draft age—and it will bring wars home to the doorstep.”
Still, Rohde acknowledges how deeply embedded the value of individual freedom is in American society. For a draft to be reinstated, public and congressional support would require an extensive campaign and compelling justification.
Even within the U.S. government, support for troop deployment faces resistance. The unofficial bipartisan policy of “no troops on the ground” is difficult to overcome. And some experts question whether a draft is even necessary in an age of drone warfare, as evidenced in Ukraine and Gaza.
If a draft is implemented, Rohde also fears the broader foreign policy consequences. “An influx of thousands of expensively trained soldiers could make the Trump administration more prone to military action overseas,” he says.
It could also escalate the militarization of U.S. cities—something we’ve already seen with ICE and the National Guard on domestic soil.
Rohde lived through the Vietnam War draft. He was nearly drafted himself, ranking third on the national lottery list. He opposed the war but didn’t qualify for conscientious objector status on religious grounds. Instead, he was deferred due to orthodontic braces. “It was very real to me, especially during a war that I deeply opposed,” he recalls. “It had an immediacy—it was life or death.”
What About Women?
As of now, American women are not required to register with Selective Service and would not be drafted—unless Congress amends the National Defense Authorization Act. The last attempt to do so was in 2017. In 2020, a national commission recommended including women in future drafts, but Congress declined to adopt the proposal.
Still, women have always played essential roles during wartime. They enlist voluntarily. They hold society together at home. And they often lead resistance movements.
“There is no constitutional basis to exclude women from the draft,” says Rohde.
Critics often cite pregnancy or childcare as reasons women are unfit to serve. But, as Rohde points out, “as accommodations have been made for the medical needs of men, the same can be done for women.”
The male-only nature of a draft would place immense responsibility and “tremendous demands on women,” Rohde says, especially as they juggle childcare and careers. However, it could also open doors: If men are drafted out of the workforce, women could step into higher-paying and higher-ranking jobs typically dominated by men.
History tells us this isn’t hypothetical.
During World War II, women took on “masculine” roles, working in factories, engineering and repairing vehicles. They became nurses, code-breakers, pilots—even spies. Naomi Parker Fraley, the woman behind the iconic Rosie the Riveter image, helped glamorize this labor. And women like Angeline Nanni, who worked in counterintelligence during the Cold War, were instrumental to U.S. military success.
Women also led peace movements. The Women’s Peace Party, formed in 1915 to protest World War I, laid the groundwork for future movements, including the fight for suffrage and labor rights. During the Vietnam War, women of color led anti-war protests that changed public and political opinion. Elaine Brown chaired the Black Panther Party. Jane Fonda used her celebrity to speak out on the Voice of Vietnam radio. Today, she continues to rally young people against authoritarianism.
“Women bring a sense of resolving problems without violence, of mediating, of trying to create a more peaceful world,” says Rohde.
He cautions, however, against embracing the draft as a progressive ideal. “It’s a dangerous idea to militarize American society through the existence of a draft. We should be going in the opposite direction—demilitarizing society and looking for peaceful, diplomatic, humanitarian ways to solve problems.”
The Bottom Line
The U.S. is still far from full-scale war, and even further from instituting a draft. No national emergency has been declared—and even if it were, it could take nearly seven months before drafted soldiers report for service.
But if a draft were ever reintroduced, women would be central to what happens next—whether or not they are called to serve.
They always have been.
You may also like: In the new 10-episode podcast Speaking Freely, free speech expert Stephen Rohde unpacks major Supreme Court cases on expression—tackling issues like hate speech, defamation, incitement and more. Listen to Speaking Freely on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or iHeart. All 10 episodes available now.
Great Job Sarah Arencibia & the Team @ Ms. Magazine Source link for sharing this story.
