Uniform Parentage Act

In Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court held it unjust and inequitable to penalize children born to unmarried parents or to single mothers for their parents' wrongdoing. The court disapproved such a patent violation of the Equal Protection Clause on the basis that no state interest could justify the unfair discrimination against children born to unmarried parents or to single mothers as opposed to children born to married parents. Thus, the court's revision gave way to a still further change in American society, soon leading to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws drafting a set of uniform rules for the equalization of children regardless of their parents' marital status. The rules were promulgated in 1973 under the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA): an act with mere persuasive power and yet revolutionizing modern family law.