Ruth E. Holbrook v. Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

Plaintiff Ruth E. Holbrook appeals from a District Court judgment rejecting her challenge to the constitutionality of a section of the Social Security Act that treats the adoption of unrelated children differently from the birth of natural children or the adoption of step-children. The denial of plaintiff’s insurance benefits is based on the ineligibility of her adopted child, which ineligibility in turn is based on 42 U.S.C. § 402(d)(8), the challenged provision. She claims that the distinctions the section makes are irrational and thus violate equal protection and due process rights. We…