I have kept my Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) advocacy button (pictured below) handy to show people I still believe in the ERA, but never thought I’d be wearing it again. But I am now, thanks to the Supreme Court.

This week, we received irrefutable confirmation that a women’s right to manage her own body and medical decisions is never safe in the United States. In Florida, we were one of a the handful of states that in the 1970’s & early 80’s came close to passing the Equal Rights Amendment but fell short. Our State House passed it multiple times but it never got past the then-highly regressive Senate. Governor Askew strongly backed the Amendment as did a number of what you would consider conservative GOPers when the ERA passed Congress.

The Amendment, as we all know fell just short, passing 35 states, three short of the required 38. It’s time to receive the ERA, as women cannot trust their fate to be treated as equal citizens to the whims of politicians and judges.

Today, the ERA and other equal pay or equal rights initiatives are on the back-burner. As politicians tout equality, many do little in the legislative arena to actually bring it about. Having failed to codify Roe v Wade in a timely fashion, it’s now time to restart the push for the ERA as well as codifying Roe- dual tracks to curb the excesses of judges and politicians while protecting women both constitutionally and in the US code.

Here is a powerful video from Alyssa Milano that hits all the right notes on this issue: