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In December 1968, a young mother in Ireland wakes from a four-day coma, her body ravaged by her third pregnancy in less than two years. The twins she delivered are healthy, but May McGee has nearly paid for them with her life... Her doctor's words are blunt. Another pregnancy could kill her. He writes a prescription for a diaphragm and spermicidal jelly, contraceptives she cannot legally obtain in her own country. The only option is to import them from the UK. When the package arrives at Irish customs, it's seized. Officials deliver a chilling warning to the McGees: attempt this again, and face prosecution. May McGee, just 24 years old with four children born in 23 months, is told by her government that her life is less important than a law written in 1935. She refuses to accept it. "I was livid that somebody in government could tell us how to live our lives," she would later recall. "I wasn't going to back down." With support from their doctor and the Irish Family Planning Association, the McGees file a lawsuit. The High Court rejects them in 1972. But they appeal to the Supreme Court, and on December 19, 1973, something remarkable happens. In a 4-1 decision, the court rules that married couples have a constitutional right to privacy in family planning decisions. The moment that crystallized the case came during testimony. When asked how he felt about his wife using contraceptives, Shay McGee answered with devastating simplicity: "I'd prefer to see her using contraceptives than be placing flowers on her grave." Years later, Supreme Court Justice Gerard Hogan would call it the court's "single most important decision" in nearly a century, one that ignited "a social revolution." Yet that revolution moved painfully slowly. Politicians didn't pass legislation allowing even limited access until 1979, and only for married couples with prescriptions. Full unrestricted access to contraception didn't arrive until 1993, twenty years after the McGees won their case. The Sunday after their victory, May and Shay attended Mass in Skerries. From the altar, they were publicly condemned. They walked out and never returned to the church. May McGee never sought recognition for what she had done, but her refusal to back down transformed Irish society and opened doors for generations of women who followed. © Reddit #archaeohistories