''Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists'', 476 U.S. 747 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court case involving a challenge to Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act of 1982.
[.][Greenhouse, Linda. Becoming Justice Blackmun. Times Books. 2005. Page 183.]
Decision
In 1982,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
passed the Abortion Control Act, which imposed a 24 hour waiting period and required that prospective patients be provided with information (such as the probable stage of the patient's pregnancy, the availability of child welfare benefits, and the possibility of receiving child support from the patient's sexual partner) as part of the "informed consent" process prior to all abortion procedures.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists filed suit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced on constitutional grounds. The district court denied the plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief and the plaintiffs appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Third Circuit then reversed and enjoined enforcement of the Act. Pennsylvania then appealed to the Supreme Court which granted review.
In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the Third Circuit's decision to enjoin enforcement of the Act. Justice
Harry Blackmun, writing for the majority, held that the Act's requirement of providing information to the patient as part of the "informed consent" process "seem
to us to be nothing less than an outright attempt to wedge the Commonwealth's message discouraging abortion into the privacy of the informed-consent dialogue between the woman and her physician."
Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor distanced herself from the court in dissent, "disput
ngnot only the wisdom but also the legitimacy of the Court's attempt to discredit and pre-empt state abortion regulation regardless of the interests it serves and the impact it has."
[ The 7–2 majority of ''Roe'' had now shrunk to 5–4.
]
See also
* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 476
* List of United States Supreme Court cases
This page serves as an index of lists of United States Supreme Court cases. The United States Supreme Court is the highest federal court of the United States.
By Chief Justice
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* Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
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*
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
1986 in United States case law
United States abortion case law
United States substantive due process case law
United States Supreme Court cases
Legal history of Pennsylvania
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court