stanley v. illinois, 405 u.s. 645 (1972), was a landmark united states supreme court case in which the court held that the fathers of children born out of wedlock had a fundamental right to their children. until the ruling, when the mother of a child born out of wedlock was unable to care for the child, through death or other circumstances, the child was made a ward of the state and either placed in an orphanage or foster care or given up for adoption.