Many court cases have defined and redefined reproductive choice in the United States. The following cases show both the evolution of and chipping away at a woman's right to choose.
Decided in 1973, this case legalized abortion throughout the United States. More
In 1989, the Supreme Court decided the validity of Missouri's restrictions on abortion. In this case, Justice O'Connor introduced her "undue burden" analysis which later became the Court's framework for deciding cases about abortion. More
This 1992 ruling significantly weakened the protections of Roe v. Wade. Many had feared that the Court would reverse Roe, but instead the Court affirmed Roe's central holding while altering the framework for analyzing abortion cases. More
In 2000, the Supreme Court applied its holding in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, striking down Nebraska's abortion ban. More
In June of 2000, the Supreme Court issued its decision upholding a Colorado measure that protected women seeking abortion care from harassment. More
This section discusses the obligation of states to fund abortions in certain circumstances and the requirement of federally funded family planning clinics to discuss abortion as an option. More
The Supreme Court has ruled that the mandating of the consent of or notice to a parent before a teen has an abortion is constitutional. More
On April 18, 2007, the United States Supreme Court turned back the clock on women's health and reproductive rights. In a 5-4 decision that puts politics before women's health, the Court upheld the first-ever federal ban on abortion - called by its sponsors the "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003."
The ban contains an exception only to save a woman's life, and does not provide an exception to protect a woman's health or an adequate exception to save a woman's life. In upholding the ban, the Supreme Court disregarded the opinions of leading doctors and medical organizations that opposed the ban because of its threat to women's health. By finding the ban constitutional, the Court undermined a long-standing core principle of Roe v. Wade that women's health must remain paramount and such restrictions require exceptions to preserve a woman's health.
Ruling
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. His ruling used disturbing rhetoric about women's place in society and called into question women's decision-making ability. The Court made it clear that the Court would defer to legislators' opinions rather than doctors' experiences, allowing politicians to trump doctors. Additionally, and for the first time, the Court held that the "State's interest in promoting respect for human life at all stages in the pregnancy" could outweigh the woman's interest in protecting her own health. This is a radical departure from more than 30 years of precedent holding that a woman's health is paramount.
This was the first decision about abortion to be issued since Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote an impassioned dissent for the minority and denounced the ruling as "alarming," noting that "for the first time since Roe, the Court blesses a prohibition with no exception safeguarding a woman's health." She wrote that women's "ability to realize their full potential...is intimately connected to 'their ability to control their reproductive lives.'" She concluded that "the Act, and the Court's defense of it, cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by the Court - and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women's lives."
This decision will have far-reaching consequences and puts women's health at risk. Individual states may now take advantage of this decision and pass even more intrusive legislation in the coming years.
Read NAF's Amicus brief (PDF file, 175K) and the Supreme Court ruling.
|
