In Bradwell v. The State, brought to the U. S. Supreme Court in 1872, which ultimately denied Mrs. Myra Bradwell the right to practice law in the state of Illinois, the concurring opinion of Justice Joseph P. Bradley read in part:

"...the civil law, as well as Nature herself, has always recognized a wide difference in the respective spheres and destinies of man and woman. ...The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex, evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life. ...The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother."

The Supreme Court has a long history of helping define the proper role of women in our society.

7/17/2022