In the 1974 case Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a widower who had been denied Social Security benefits after his wife's death on grounds of gender discrimination. The plaintiff, Stephen C. Wiesenfeld, sought to receive survivor's benefits following his wife’s death during childbirth but was denied because he was not a woman; at that time only women were eligible for such benefits under existing law. He argued this violated equal protection principles as outlined in the Fifth Amendment due to its discriminatory nature against men and working women whose earnings did not benefit their families upon their deaths like those of male earners did for theirs'. The court unanimously agreed with Mr.Wiesenfeld and held that differential treatment based on sex without substantial justification is unconstitutional.

In the dissenting opinion for Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, Justice William Rehnquist argued that the Social Security Act's gender-based distinction was not unconstitutional. He contended that Congress had a rational basis to provide benefits only to widows and not widowers because historically, men were typically the primary wage earners in families. Therefore, it made sense for survivor benefits to be given primarily to women who lost their husbands - as they would likely suffer more significant financial hardship than men who lost their wives. Furthermore, he asserted that this provision did not discriminate against women but rather aimed at protecting them financially after losing their spouse's income due to death.