She had not yet heard our case. She was not privy to, nor did she weigh in on, the powerful arguments regarding the infringement of Congress on States’ rights by imposing deadlines on Constitutional amendments. She was not presented with the evidence that the contemporaneity issue referenced in Dillon v. Gloss was incinerated by the subsequent adoption of the 27th amendment in 1992, which took 203 years to complete ratification. She simply warned women that the politics was so toxic around the issue, that ERA wouldn’t make it right now if it came before the bench.
Those of us who had been working to execute the 3 State Strategy were understandably deeply bummed out by these remarks, coming as they did, at a pivotal moment in our fight for final ERA ratification and validation in the courts. But we were nonetheless determined to see the process through and be able to present our case to the highest court in the land.
Then the unthinkable happened. On Friday September 18th, the notorious, extraordinary, ferociously intelligent feminist strategist and superhero we all counted on just couldn’t hang on for us any longer. She took her leave and left us bereft and deeply concerned about the future of women’s rights in present day America.
Given the political feeding frenzy taking place over replacing RBG, it is no surprise that Justice Ginsburg feared the political repercussions, should ERA be seen to have been achieved illegitimately.