''Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth'', 428 U.S. 52 (1976), is a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case on abortion. The plaintiffs challenged the
constitutionality
Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...
of a
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
statute regulating
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. The Court upheld the right to have an abortion, declaring unconstitutional the statute's requirement of prior written consent from a parent (in the case of a minor) or a spouse (in the case of a married woman).
Background of the case
The District Court's ruling
The plaintiffs brought suit in the
, seeking injunctive relief.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2281, the court convened a three-judge panel to try the case. The panel consisted of Eighth Circuit Judge
William Hedgcock Webster
William Hedgcock Webster (born March 6, 1924) is an American attorney and jurist who most recently served as chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2005 until 2020. He was a United States district judge of the United States Distric ...
, District Judge
Harris Kenneth Wangelin, and Senior District Judge
Roy Winfield Harper
Roy Winfield Harper (July 26, 1905 – February 13, 1994) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Educ ...
. The court held that Section 6(1) of the challenged act, which "prescribe
the standard of care which a person performing an abortion must exercise for the protection of the fetus" was unconstitutionally overbroad. It upheld the rest of the challenged act. Judge Webster concurred with the panel majority in finding 6(1) overboard and upholding "the constitutional validity of Section 2(2)
(defining "viability"), Section 3(2) (requiring the woman's written consent to an abortion), Section 10 (maintenance of records) and Section 11 (retention of records)." He dissented from the majority opinion with respect to four other provisions: 3(3) (spousal consent requirement), 3(4) (parental consent requirement), 7 (termination of parental rights if child is born alive), and 9 (prohibition of saline amniocentesis method of abortion).
The Court's opinions
The majority opinion
The court struck down the provisions of the statute that required spousal and parental consent to obtain an abortion. The court upheld the statute's recordkeeping requirement for abortion facilities and physicians that perform abortions.
In addressing the issue of spousal consent, the Court upheld the lower court's decision that just as the state could not regulate or proscribe abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy nor could the state "delegate to a spouse veto power."
See also
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List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 428
This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 428 of the ''United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record ( law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ...
* ''
Griswold v. Connecticut
''Griswold v. Connecticut'', 381 U.S. 479 (1965), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects the liberty of married couples to buy and use contraceptives withou ...
'', , established the constitutional right to privacy
* ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'',
* ''
Doe v. Bolton
''Doe v. Bolton'', 410 U.S. 179 (1973), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning the abortion law of Georgia. The Supreme Court's decision was released on January 22, 1973, the same day as the decision in the better-kno ...
'',
* ''
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
''Webster v. Reproductive Health Services'', 492 U.S. 490 (1989), was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court decision on upholding a Missouri law that imposed restrictions on the use of state funds, facilities, and employ ...
'',
* ''
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
''Planned Parenthood v. Casey'', 505 U.S. 833 (1992), was a landmark case of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court upheld the right to have an abortion as established by the "essential holding" of ''Roe v. Wade'' (1973) and ...
'',
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{US14thAmendment, dueprocess
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
United States substantive due process case law
Void for vagueness case law
United States Free Speech Clause case law
United States abortion case law
1976 in United States case law
Planned Parenthood litigation
Legal history of Missouri
Women in Missouri