391 U.S. 68 (1968)
The appellant brought suit on behalf of five illegitimate children against the doctor who treated their mother and the insurance company.1 The suit sought recovery under a Louisiana statute for damages resulting from the wrongful death of the mother.2 These damages included compensation for the loss of the mother as well as for her pain and suffering.3
Louise Levy gave birth to the five children out of wedlock.4 The children lived with her and she treated them as a parent would treat any other child.5 She worked as a domestic servant to support them.6 She took them to church every Sunday and enrolled them at her own expense in a parochial school.7
The Louisiana District Court dismissed the suit.8 The Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal.9 It held that the term "child" in the statute meant legitimate child. The denial of recovery to illegitimate children rested on morals and general welfare because it discourages bringing children into the world out of wedlock.10
The Supreme Court of Louisiana denied certiorari.11 The case reached the United States Supreme Court on appeal.12 Probable jurisdiction was noted to consider the constitutional challenges under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.13
Whether the Louisiana wrongful death statute, as construed to deny recovery to illegitimate children for the death of their mother, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?14
Illegitimate children are persons within the meaning of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.15 While states have broad power to make classifications in social and economic legislation, they may not draw lines that constitute invidious discrimination.16 The test is whether the classification is rational.17 Courts are especially sensitive to classifications affecting basic civil rights such as the familial relationship between a child and mother.18
Yes. The children lived with their mother who supported them and cared for them as any parent would.19
Yet the statute as construed by the Louisiana courts denied them recovery solely because of their illegitimate status.20
Legitimacy has no relation to the wrong inflicted on the mother or the loss suffered by the children.21
The discrimination is invidious because no action, conduct, or demeanor of the children is relevant to the harm done.22
They are entitled to the same rights as other citizens despite their birth status.23
The Louisiana wrongful death statute as construed violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.24