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Geduldig v. Aiello

Creating A Double Standard



Justice Blackmun wrote a spirited dissent, joined by Justices Douglas and Marshall:

The economic effects caused by pregnancy-related disabilities are functionally indistinguishable from the effects caused by any other disability: wages are lost due to a physical inability to work, and medical expenses are incurred for the delivery of the child and for postpartum care. In my view, by singling out for less favorable treatment a gender-linked disability peculiar to women, the State has created a double standard for disability compensation: a limitation is imposed upon the disabilities for which women workers may recover, while men receive full compensation for all disabilities suffered, including those that affect only or primarily their sex, such as prostatectomies, circumcision, hemophilia, and gout.

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Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1973 to 1980Geduldig v. Aiello - Significance, Four Women, Different Pregnancies, Another Court Heard, Is Normal Pregnancy A Disability?