City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health
462 U.S. 416 (1983)
The Court invalidated informed consent requirements that included information on the medical
risks of abortion, fetal development, alternatives to abortion, and a 24-hour waiting period. Also
invalidated were provisions related to parental consent without judicial bypass, a provision
requiring abortions to be performed only in hospitals after the first trimester, and one requiring
fetal remains to be disposed of in a “humane and sanitary” manner.
Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
476 U.S. 747 (1986)
The Court invalidated a Pennsylvania statute which required, inter alia, informed consent on
fetal development, abortion alternatives, and the medical risks of abortion, reporting of abortions,
and requiring that the physician use the abortion method most likely to preserve the life of a
viable child.
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
492 U.S. 490 (1989)
The Court upheld a Missouri statute which denied state funding and state employee participation
in performing, or counseling for, abortion, but declined to uphold a provision requiring doctors
to test for fetal viability before aborting a fetus of 20 weeks’ gestation or older. In Webster, four
justices urged the reconsideration of Roe v. Wade.
Rust v. Sullivan
500 U.S. 173 (1991)
The Court upheld federal regulations prohibiting family planning clinics receiving Title X
funding from counseling or referring clients for abortion.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey
505 U.S. 833 (1992)
The Court held states could require parental consent for a minor’s abortion (as long as judicial
bypass is available), require a waiting period between seeking and obtaining an abortion, and
require detailed “informed consent” including medical information about the abortion. The State
could not require a signed statement from the woman that she had given notice to her husband, if
any, prior to the procedure. Casey abandoned the trimester framework, replacing it with pre- and
post-viability tests for constitutionality. Roe was reaffirmed – although “liberty” replaced
“privacy” as the alleged constitutional interest – on the basis of stare decisis (“let the decision
stand”), to avoid the appearance that the Court was vulnerable to political pressure, and because
“people had organized their intimate relationships and made choices that define themselves … in
reliance on the availability of abortion in the event contraception should fail.” Four justices
dissented from Casey’s “reaffirmation of Roe.”