Court Cases
Here is a summary of the major Supreme Court cases on abortion, along with links to the actual cases so you can read the original texts.
Find out more about the court cases listed below by clicking on them to download the RTF (Rich Text Format).
Roe vs. Wade 1/22/73
(for complete case information please click here)
Declared that under an individual's fundamental 14th Amendment right of privacy, states may not ban abortion. It held the fetus is not a person and left abortion decisions solely between a woman and her doctor in the first trimester, with reasonable state regulation permitted later to protect the mother and eventually to shield a viable fetus.
Declared that under an individual's fundamental 14th Amendment right of privacy, states may not ban abortion. It held the fetus is not a person and left abortion decisions solely between a woman and her doctor in the first trimester, with reasonable state regulation permitted later to protect the mother and eventually to shield a viable fetus.
Doe vs. Bolton 1/22/73
(for complete case information please click here)
Restricted the scope of permissible state regulation, overturning a law requiring the procedure be done only in hospitals, only for residents of that state and only with permission by a hospital committee and two outside physicians.
Restricted the scope of permissible state regulation, overturning a law requiring the procedure be done only in hospitals, only for residents of that state and only with permission by a hospital committee and two outside physicians.
Planned Parenthood vs. Danforth 7/1/76
(for complete case information please click here)
Allowed the state to require record keeping of abortions performed and signed consent by the woman. Declared it unconstitutional to require doctors to exercise care to preserve fetal life and overturned a ban on saline abortions after first 12 weeks of pregnancy and a requirement that a husband consent to abortion.
Allowed the state to require record keeping of abortions performed and signed consent by the woman. Declared it unconstitutional to require doctors to exercise care to preserve fetal life and overturned a ban on saline abortions after first 12 weeks of pregnancy and a requirement that a husband consent to abortion.
Maher vs. Susan Roe 6/20/77
(for complete case information please click here)
Medicaid need not pay expenses for non-therapeutic elective abortions simply because it pays expenses for childbirth, because the state has a legitimate interest in preserving life.
Medicaid need not pay expenses for non-therapeutic elective abortions simply because it pays expenses for childbirth, because the state has a legitimate interest in preserving life.
Harris vs. McRae 6/30/80
(for complete case information please click here)
States are not obliged to fund medically necessary abortions for which federal funds are blocked by the Hyde amendment.
States are not obliged to fund medically necessary abortions for which federal funds are blocked by the Hyde amendment.
Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services 7/3/89
(for complete case information please click here)
Upheld Missouri's ban on using state facilities or employees to perform elective non-therapeutic abortions and upheld a requirement that medical tests determined a fetus' chance for viability.
Upheld Missouri's ban on using state facilities or employees to perform elective non-therapeutic abortions and upheld a requirement that medical tests determined a fetus' chance for viability.
Planned Parenthood vs. Pennsylvania Casey 6/29/92
(for complete case information please click here)
Decided to apply the test of whether a state regulation creates an "undue burden" on a woman's access to abortion, replacing the trimester rule established in 1973. Under the new standard, the Court accepted a 24-hour waiting period, informed consent guidelines, parental consent in some cases, and reporting and record keeping requirements. The Court rejected a provision that the woman's spouse be notified, saying that constitutes an undue burden on a woman's right to abortion.
Decided to apply the test of whether a state regulation creates an "undue burden" on a woman's access to abortion, replacing the trimester rule established in 1973. Under the new standard, the Court accepted a 24-hour waiting period, informed consent guidelines, parental consent in some cases, and reporting and record keeping requirements. The Court rejected a provision that the woman's spouse be notified, saying that constitutes an undue burden on a woman's right to abortion.
Gonzalez, Attorney General vs. Carhart 4/18/07
Upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress in 2003. The gruesome partial birth abortion procedure involved removing the entire body of the live baby, then killing the baby by piercing or crushing the skull of the baby before removing the baby from the birth canal. In the majority decision, the Court ruled that the general ban on the method is permissible and does not violate the general "abortion right" enunciated in past decisions such as Roe v. Wade (1973) and Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992).