By Katie Eyer.
In 1974, Geduldig v. Aiello held that pregnancy discrimination is not facially sex discrimination. Only four years later, Congress repudiated Geduldig in the statutory context in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. For decades, Geduldig remained largely moribund, as the vast majority of pregnancy cases were brought pursuant to Title VII—and as the courts increasingly recognized that pregnancy discrimination implicated gender stereotypes (and thus sex discrimination) even in the Equal Protection context.
But now, close to five decades later, opponents of transgender equality are trying to give the decision new life. Faced with the prospect of defending government laws and policies targeting “sex changes,” “gender dysphoria,” and more, such opponents have relied on Geduldig to argue that such policies are not facially discriminatory on the basis of sex or transgender status. Full Article.