The Senate version of this year’s annual military policy bill (the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA, S.4638) includes a harmful provision aimed at expanding the draft, also known as the military Selective Service System.
Like the House version of the legislation (H.R.8070) which passed its chamber in June, the Senate NDAA would establish a new system to automatically register young men for the draft. Additionally, the Senate bill seeks to make draft registration compulsory for young women.
These proposals are a misguided attempt to “save” and expand a failing and dysfunctional draft system that should be abolished entirely.
A Move Backward, Not Forward
Quakers are dedicated to nonviolence and have a centuries-long history of opposing all compulsory participation in violence and wars. For FCNL, that includes opposition to the U.S. Selective Service System. Fundamentally, we believe that it is wrong to compel people to participate in violence against their will.
As we wrote in a letter to Congress with coalition partners in 2021, the proposal to expand draft registration to women “does not represent a move forward for women; it represents a move backward, imposing on young women a burden that young men have had to bear unjustly for decades – a burden that no young person should have to bear at all.”
Expanding the draft to include women means doubling a wrong instead of righting it.
For people of faith and conscience dedicated to peace and non-violence, this burden often means facing painful dilemmas.
As former FCNL staff member Alex Frandsen explained, “To register can mean compromising your sincerely held beliefs. To not register can mean losing out on student financial aid, federal employment, and in some cases, citizenship.”
Expanding the draft to include women means exposing twice as many Americans to these cruel choices, doubling a wrong instead of righting it.
Automatic Draft Registration: Impractical and Immoral
The proposal to enact automatic draft registration would also only worsen the deep-rooted flaws of the Selective Service System.
By automatically registering young people for military service, Congress would make it more difficult for conscientious objectors to exercise their right to resist being forcibly enlisted in the military over deeply held religious or moral objections.
Further, as expert Edward Hasbrouck explains, the proposal is not just immoral, but also impractical. The details are complicated, but the bottom line is simple: automatic draft registration won’t work and will only compound the dysfunction of the current system.
As Hasbrouck writes, “Congress should stop making futile attempts to salvage, much less expand, the current failed registration system.”
It’s Time to Abolish the Draft Entirely
As the NDAA comes to the Senate floor, lawmakers must reject these misguided proposals to expand and entrench the military draft system.
Further, leadership must allow for a broader debate on the merits of compulsory military service, including a vote on amendment 2183 to the NDAA from Sen. Ron Wyden (OR), which would abolish the Selective Service System entirely.
Forcing any person to engage in violence against their will is fundamentally wrong.
As Hasbrouck wrote, “the perceived availability of a draft enables planning for unlimited wars, without having to worry about whether people will be willing to fight them.”
Forcing any person to engage in violence against their will, particularly as part of a war they don’t believe in, is fundamentally wrong.
Instead of preparing to compel young people to fight in disastrous wars of the future, Congress should focus on strengthening peacebuilding and diplomacy to ensure such wars never occur in the first place.
