The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the all-male military draft system on Thursday.

Under the Military Selective Service Act, men between the ages of 18 and 26 are required to register with the Selective Service System. Men who fail to register may be fined, imprisoned and/or denied federal benefits. Women are not required to register.

In Rostker v. Goldberg, the US Supreme Court held that male-only draft registration did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. This ruling, which came in 1981, was based on the fact that women were then barred from serving in the military. Since that time, women have been gradually integrated into military service.

The National Coalition for Men filed suit against the Selective Service System, alleging that the male-only military draft is unlawful sex discrimination. The district court held that the male-only military draft violated their Fifth Amendment rights. The district court reasoned that Rostker no longer controlled because women now could serve in combat.

On Thursday, the appeals court held that the judgment directly contradicted the Supreme Court’s holding in Rostker. Because “only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent,” the court reversed the district court’s ruling. The Fifth Circuit stated that it is a “strict stare decisis” court and cannot ignore the Supreme Court’s rulings unless the Supreme Court tells it that it can.

The appeals court refused to disregard the Supreme Court’s decision, which foreclosed the National Coalition for Men’s claims. Therefore, the court reversed the district court’s judgment and dismissed the case.