| |
|
The History of Abortion and the Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court has decided over 30 cases involving abortion since 1973. Here is a brief summary of some of the major decisions.
|
|
| DOFEI |
| Roe v. Wade (1973) |
| DOFEI |
Roe invalidated a 19th century Texas statute prohibiting abortion except in cases where necessary to preserve the maternal life on the basis that the right of privacy secured by the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment includes a fundamental right of a woman to decide “whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
|
| DOFEI |
| Doe v. Bolton (1973) |
| DOFEI |
Companion case to Roe v. Wade. By a vote of 7-2, the Court invalidated a Georgia “reform” abortion statute that permitted abortion where continued pregnancy would endanger a woman’s life or health, including mental health, where the fetus would likely be born with a serious defect or where pregnancy resulted from rape.
Doe is frequently cited for its definition of maternal “health.” Because Roe allowed abortion in the second and third trimesters for the “life or health” of the mother, the following definition of “health” has been used to make abortion on demand available through all nine months of pregnancy: “The medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors-physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age-relevant to the well being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.”Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 192 (1973).
|
| |
| Bellotti v. Baird (1979) |
| DOFEI |
This case set the standard for parental consent for minors seeking abortion. The Court invalidated a Massachusetts law that required a minor to obtain the consent of both parents before obtaining an abortion. Held that states requiring the consent of parents to abortions upon minors must afford minors an alternative opportunity for authorization of the abortion (“judicial bypass”) where the minor may demonstrate that either she is mature and well enough informed to make her own abortion decision, or if not mature, that the abortion would nonetheless be in her best interest. |
| DOFEI |
| Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992) |
| DOFEI |
By a sharply divided vote of 5-4, the Court reaffirmed the essential holding of Roe. The Court upheld provisions of a Pennsylvania statute that required (1) physicians to provide patients with informed consent booklets, including medical risks of abortion and childbirth as well as pictures of the u nb orn child at various stages of development; (2) a mandatory 24-hour reflection period following receipt of information; (3) the filing of abortion reports for statistical compilation, including information such as age of a woman, gestational age of aborted child, and reason for abortion; and (4) a one-parent consent requirement for minors with a judicial bypass. |
| DOFEI |
| Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network (1997) |
| DOFEI |
The court invalidated, as a violation of the First Amendment, a state court injunction that created a 15-foot “floating” buffer zone around any person or vehicle seeking access to or leaving an abortion clinic. However, the Court upheld a provision creating a 15-foot “fixed” buffer zone outside of abortion clinics.
|
| DOFEI |
Stenberg v. Carhart (2003)
|
| DOFEI |
By a vote of 5-4, the Court struck down Nebraska ’s ban on partial-birth abortion. The Court concluded that key statutory terms were unconstitutionally vague such that it would affect not only partial-birth abortion, but also other constitutionally protected second-trimester abortion methods. The Court also found the statute invalid for lack of a “health” exception. Strongly worded dissenting opinions were filed by Justices Rehnquist, Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas.
|
| |
| Gonzales v Carhart (2007) |
| The Court validated the Congressional ban on partial birth abortion, the ghastly procedure where a doctor forces the partial birth of a baby and then destroys the newborn’s head while still inside the birth canal. This decision prevents abortionists from performing a specific type of procedure. It does not prevent late-term abortion. Click here for Talking Points... |
How the USSC Has Shaped Abortion Law
|
|
|
 |
