the case made it to the illinois supreme court, which ruled that while there had been no determination of his fitness as a parent, the state was nonetheless justified in depriving him of parental rights based on the sole fact that he had not been married to the mother. whether or not mr. stanley was a fit parent was irrelevant. in filings with the us supreme court, the state of illinois argued that all unwed fathers are unfit parents, making it unnecessary to provide each unwed father a hearing.