After a spirited debate, lawmakers decided to exempt women from the registration requirement. The Senate Armed Service Committee cited the Pentagon’s ban on women in combat as the main reason. A report by the committee mentioned “congressional concerns about the societal impact of the registration and possible induction of women,” according to the Selective Service’s summary of the debate.

A group of men sued the director of the Selective Service at the time, Bernard D. Rostker, arguing that the exclusion of women made the registration requirement unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment’s due-process clause. In a 6 to 3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that it was acceptable to exclude women. Writing for the majority, Justice William H. Rehnquist determined that “the fact that Congress and the Executive have decided that women should not serve in combat fully justifies Congress in not authorizing their registration.”

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Thurgood Marshall chided the ruling, saying it “places its imprimatur on one of the most potent remaining public expressions of ‘ancient canards about the proper role of women.’ ”

Greg Jacob, the policy director of the Service Women’s Action Network, which advocated for the repeal of the ban on women in combat, said his organization thinks women ought to register with Selective Service.

“Part of equality means women have that shared responsibility,” he said.

Flahavan, the Selective Service spokesman, said the issue will have to be tackled by Congress.

“If the combat exclusion goes away, someone needs to be relooking at that now that [the Supreme Court] rationale no longer holds water,” he said.