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Today, many ordinary things that were once part of everyone’s life have become outdated or even shocking practices. This transformation represents social advancement in regulating human rights, enhancing public security, and building social ethics.
Check out where we were then compared to where we are now—12 things were legal in the ’70s but are now illegal.
Marital R@pe
Marital r@pe was practically unknown in the 1970s. Under the doctrine of the lawful coverture, a woman’s rights at the time of marriage coexisted with her husband’s, effectively making consent within marriage irrelevant. This wasn’t discussed until the women’s rights movement picked up steam.
In 1993, all 50 states had laws against marital r@pe, a considerable development in recognizing women’s legal rights within marriage. The fact that this change is happening is an impetus to future advocacy for gender equality and the protection of personal autonomy.
Child Abuse
In the ’70s, it became a time of addressing child abuse. However, it wasn’t until 1974, after the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was enacted. Child abuse didn’t often get reported and punished before this legislation.
The act was a federally mandated one that protects children physically, sexu@lly, and emotionally, maintaining the standards for reporting and intervention. Child protection is a fundamental part of social services today, but the story of these laws demonstrates that there is still work to do to protect vulnerable populations.
Drinking While Driving
For decades, driving under the influence has been illegal, but in the ’70s, attitudes about alcohol and driving were more lenient. There were open container laws that were not universally enforced — drivers could drink alcohol as long as they were not intoxicated.
Only in 1998 was a federal open container law put in place to stem the tide of harmful practice. Today, these laws are essential to road safety as part of a broader commitment to reducing alcohol-implicated crashes and deaths.
Lobotomies
Lobotomies—once standard psychiatric treatment—continued in the United States even after they were barred in 1967. This was a very controversial procedure that required severing connections of the brain and treating mental health conditions, often with debilitating side effects.
The patience and slow pace that has changed in medical ethics (lobotomies in the ’70s) prove that psychiatric practices must stay on the watch and lab of ethical scrutiny.
Child Labor
Since the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, child labor regulations have existed, but exploitative practices continued in the ’70s in the farm and textile industries.
There was a wide gap between the laws and where they were enforced, and it often involved children working in very hazardous conditions for very little pay. Since then, the progress made shows the need for continued efforts to protect young workers and their rights to be protected in all sectors.
Methamphetamine
In the ’70s, methamphetamine in its prescription form was available under the name ‘Methedrine‘ for the treatment of conditions such as depression or narcolepsy.
Meth was not legally regulated for its addictive properties, but the liberty in the substance’s use was widespread. Later, its distribution was restricted by the Controlled Substances Act, which indicated evolving government knowledge of the substance abuse problem and the imperative of sharply regulated drug control measures to forestall attacks on public health.
Forced C@strations
PBS reports that forced c@strations were practiced widely to control the numbers of individuals with intellectual disabilities and criminals. The brutal state of this practice is a black chapter in the history of medicine and the practice of law.
While no longer legally sanctioned, c@strations in the past are a reminder of respect for human rights and the prohibition of using and misusing power.
Domestic Violence
In the 1970s, domestic violence was treated as a private matter in many states, and there were few legal protections for victims. This issue came to the fore when the ’70s saw the rise of women’s rights movements, to which came the founding of the first battered women’s shelters and legal reforms.
Today, domestic violence is recognized as a severe crime, but it is urgent to continue advocating for serious consequences and punishments when it happens.
Mailing Children
Yes, you read that right. In the early 1900s, families occasionally sent children through the postal service, using low parcel rates to save money. After several such incidents, this unusual practice was officially banned, but it all pointed to the necessity of establishing rules to keep children safe.
According to the National Postal Museum, it was legal to mail a child who weighed less than 50 pounds. Today, this practice may seem amusing, but it says a lot about the need to regulate to protect children from being exploited and harmed.
Owning People
The abolition of slavery is, of course, well known, but it is shocking to know that some forms of ownership continued even into the ’70s.
Slavery was not eradicated until then in some countries—a testament to the slow march towards disassembling one of the worst human rights violations. A fight for equality and justice worldwide is the history of slavery.
Murder
Murder had always been illegal, but for some reason, there was scope for legal loopholes. Something along the lines of a slave owner killing a slave, for example, would be legally permitted because they were property.
So much about the historical devaluation of particular lives requires our justice system to sanctify all human lives.
Cocaine
Cocaine was once sold as a cure for various ailments and used as a component within the once-famous Coca-Cola. As they became known, their properties as a drug became stricter to regulate.
The history of how cocaine became illegal, as does so many other drugs, was just part of a more remarkable change around how society came to accept and manage substance abuse.
The 1970s legal landscape indicates a changing society attempting to grapple with new problems of personal rights, public safety, and standards. No small progress has been made, but these holds us in mind to continue the advocacy and hard guard of justice and human dignity. We can take away from what’s happened in the past and work towards a future where all get their rights and protections.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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