1970’s: Although most protest movements of the 1960’s slowed down by the 1970’s, feminism was still as strong as ever. Thousands of women marched in the Women’s Stride for Equality in 1970. In 1972, Congress passed Title 9 of the Education Amendments, which prohibited sexual discrimination in educational programs and activities that were supported by the federal government. This act led to an increase in women’s athletics in schools. Also, the Equal Rights Amendment got approval from Congress in 1972, which would declare equal rights to men and women officially. However, it died out in 1982 when not enough states accepted it. The ERA brought more women into the role of politics because it led to arguments between feminists and antifeminists (led by Phyllis Schlafly) over its passage. The antifeminists said that the women’s movement was leading to increasing divorce rates, another popular trend at the time. The 1970’s brought great success to women’s rights in the court. In the 1971 Supreme Court Case, Reed v. Reed, the Supreme Court ruled that sexual discrimination in employment was wrong. They did the same in the 1973 case, Frontiero v. Richardson. The biggest victory for women in the 1970’s was in 1973, when the Supreme Court canceled laws prohibiting abortion in Roe v. Wade. The court said that the constitution protected women’s rights to privacy.
1980's: The next decade brought a more conservative atmosphere as a result of the presidential policy of Republican Ronald Reagan. Women's rights slowed down a little. As a result, the Equal Rights amendment failed to become an amendment in 1982 by not gaining the vote of only 3 more states. The Supreme Court also became more conservative. In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), it lowered the pro-choice laws made in the Roe v. Wade case. It allowed a Missouri law that put restrictions on abortion, and started debates that continue to the present day between the views of pro-life and pro-choice.
1980's: The next decade brought a more conservative atmosphere as a result of the presidential policy of Republican Ronald Reagan. Women's rights slowed down a little. As a result, the Equal Rights amendment failed to become an amendment in 1982 by not gaining the vote of only 3 more states. The Supreme Court also became more conservative. In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), it lowered the pro-choice laws made in the Roe v. Wade case. It allowed a Missouri law that put restrictions on abortion, and started debates that continue to the present day between the views of pro-life and pro-choice.