West Virginia v. B. P. J. · ¶171

This Court has held that a sex classification violates equal protection when there is an incongruity between the sex classification in general and its application to a discrete subclass. For instance, in Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U. S. 380 (1979), this Court reviewed a New York law that gave an unwed mother, but not an unwed father, complete veto authority over the adoption of her child by requiring her consent. Id., at 385–387. The State justified that different treatment by invoking the notion that “‘a natural mother, absent special circumstances, bears a closer relationship with her child . . . than a father does.’” Id., at 388. The State also said that it was easier to locate unwed mothers than unwed fathers, as the former were “more likely to remain with their children.” Id., at 392.

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