Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation410 U.S. 113 (1973) Brief Fact Summary. The appellant attacked the Texas statutes alleging that they improperly invade a right, said to be possessed by the pregnant woman, to choose to terminate her pregnancy.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Only personal rights that can be deemed fundamental or implicit in the concept of ordered liberty are protected by the Constitution.   ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation410 U.S. 113 (1973) Brief Fact Summary. Appellant attacks the Texas statutes alleging that they improperly invade a right, said to be possessed by the pregnant woman, to choose to terminate her pregnancy.     Synopsis of Rule of Law. Only personal rights that can be deemed fundamental or implicit in the concept of ordered liberty are protected by the Constitution.     ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation. 410 U.S. 113, 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 .Ed.2d 147 (1973). Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of a Texas law which criminalized abortion.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. A woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy is protected by the right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.   ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation113, 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973) Brief Fact Summary. Roe challenged a Texas law making abortion illegal except by a doctor’s orders to save a woman’s life.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. A pregnant woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion is protected by the right to privacy protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.   ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

CitationRoe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147, 1973 U.S. LEXIS 159 (U.S. Jan. 22, 1973) Brief Fact Summary. A state law that absolutely prohibited elective abortions was challenged as unconstitutional. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Consistent with the Constitution, a state may not absolutely prohibit elective abortions. ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation410 U.S. 959; 93 S. Ct. 1409;35 L. Ed. 2d 694; 1973 U.S. Brief Fact Summary. A Texas law criminalizing abortion except where the procedure is necessary to “save the life of the mother” and without regard to the state of pregnancy was found by the Supreme Court of the United States to violate due process. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The right of privacy protects a married or unmarried woman’s liberty to choose an abortion, but this right must be considered against important state interests in regulation such as the stage of the pregnancy. ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147, 1973 U.S. Brief Fact Summary. A Texas statute made procuring an abortion a crime. The constitutionality of the statute was brought into question. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The decision of a woman to have an abortion is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. As such, the State may not interfere with this right absent a compelling governmental interest and narrow tailoring of the law to the compelling governmental interest. ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation22 Ill.410 U.S. 959, 93 S. Ct. 1409, 35 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1973) Brief Fact Summary. A single pregnant woman challenged a Texas law prohibiting her from having an abortion. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The right to privacy encompasses a woman’s right to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

Citation410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147, 1973 U.S. Brief Fact Summary. The Petitioner, Jane Roe (Petitioner), was pregnant and challenged the Texas statute prohibiting her from acquiring an abortion. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The State has a limited ability to affect a woman’s ability to procure an abortion. ...

Roe v. Wade
Brief

CitationRoe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147, 1973 U.S. LEXIS 159 (U.S. Jan. 22, 1973) Brief Fact Summary. Appellant Jane Roe, a pregnant mother who wished to obtain an abortion, sued on behalf of all woman similarly situated in an effort to prevent the enforcement of Texas statutes criminalizing all abortions except those performed to save the life of the mother. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Statutes that make criminal all abortions except when medically advised for the purpose of saving the life of the mother are an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. ...

Harris v. McRae
Brief

Citation. 448 U.S. 297, 100 S.Ct. 2671, 65 L.Ed.2d 784 (1980). Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the Hyde Amendment.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Where a statutory classification does not itself impinge on a right or liberty protected by the Constitution, the validity of classification must be sustained unless the classification rests on ground wholly irrelevant to the achievement of any legitimate government objective.   ...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
Brief

Citation. 505 U.S. 833, 112 S.Ct. 2791, 120 L.Ed.2d 674 (1992). Brief Fact Summary. Abortion clinics and physicians challenged Pennsylvania’s restrictions on abortions.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Laws restricting abortion must be evaluated under the undue burden standard. A finding of an undue burden is a shorthand for conclusion that a state regulation has the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.   ...

Lawrence v. Texas
Brief

Citation539 U.S. 558 (2003) Brief Fact Summary. Texas convicted the petitioners of violating an anti-gay state law prohibiting people from engaging in sexual acts with someone of the same sex. The petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the state law.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. In Bowers (overturned here), the Court upheld an anti-sodomy law, ruling that there was no fundamental right for gay people to engage in sodomy. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from depriving any person of life, ...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
Brief

Citation505 U.S. 833, 112 S.Ct. 2791, 120 L.Ed.2d 674 (1992). Brief Fact Summary. A few abortion clinics and physicians brought suit challenging the statutory restrictions placed on obtaining abortions in Pennsylvania.   Synopsis of Rule of Law. A person retains the right to have an abortion, established by Roe v. Wade, but the state’s compelling interest in protecting the life of an unborn child means that it can ban an abortion of a viable fetus under any circumstances except when the health of the mother is at risk. Also, laws restricting abortion should ...

Lawrence v. Texas
Brief

Citation539 U.S. 558, 123 S.Ct. 2472, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (2003). Brief Fact Summary. .   Synopsis of Rule of Law. Although homosexual conduct is not a fundamental right, intimate sexual relationships between consenting adults are protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.   ...

Commonwealth v. Markum
Brief

CitationCommonwealth v. Markum, 541 A. 2d 347 (Pa. Superior Ct. 1988) Brief Fact Summary. Markum tried to use the justification defense when he was charged for breaking medical equipment in an abortion clinic a part of an anti-abortion demonstration. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A justification defense is appropriate where the harm avoided by the commission of the crime is greater than the harm that is prevented by the law. ...

Doe v. Bolton
Brief

Citation410 U.S. 179 (1973). Brief Fact Summary. Doe (Plaintiff) challenged Georgia’s abortion statute as unconstitutional after she was denied an abortion. Synopsis of Rule of Law. 1) A state statute is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment when it requires that all abortions, no matter the stage of pregnancy, be performed in a hospital instead of in a less expensive clinic. 2) A state statute is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment when it requires hospitals performing abortions to meet accreditation requirements not mandated for hospitals not performing abortions or perform ...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
Brief

CitationPlanned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 112 S. Ct. 2791, 120 L. Ed. 2d 674, 1992 U.S. LEXIS 4751, 60 U.S.L.W. 4795, 92 Daily Journal DAR 8982, 6 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 663 (U.S. June 29, 1992) Brief Fact Summary. Responding to Pennsylvania’s (Defendant) enactment of its Abortion Control Act, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Plaintiff), among others, challenged the constitutionality of five provisions of the Act. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A state may regulate abortion only shen the regulation does not place an undue burden on a woman’s ability to make a d ...

Gonzales v. Carhart
Brief

CitationGonzales v. Carhart, 2006 U.S. LEXIS 1133, 546 U.S. 1169, 126 S. Ct. 1314, 164 L. Ed. 2d 46, 74 U.S.L.W. 3471 (U.S. Feb. 21, 2006)   Brief Fact Summary. A federal statute was passed that bans so-called partial-birth abortions.  Its constitutionality was challenged under the Fourteenth Amendment. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The federal nationwide ban on so-called “partial-birth abortions” is constitutional. ...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey
Brief

Citation510 U.S. 1309; 114 S. Ct. 909,127 L. Ed. 2d 352,1994 U.S. Brief Fact Summary. Although the other challenged provisions of the Act were upheld, the provision in the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982 requiring a married woman, except in limited circumstances, to notify her husband before having an abortion was held unconstitutional. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Supreme Court of the United States rejected the trimester framework of Roe v. Wade and employed a new “undue burden” test that invalidates a provision of a law if its purpose or effect is to place a substant ...

Stenberg v. Carhart
Brief

Citation530 U.S. 914, 120 S. Ct. 2597, 147 L. Ed. 2d 743, 2000 U.S. 4484. Brief Fact Summary. A Nebraska law provided that no partial birth abortion shall be performed in the state, unless such procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother. The constitutionality of the Nebraska law was brought into question. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A State may not regulate abortions in such a way that disregards the risk of injury to health of a woman. ...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
Brief

Citation505 U.S. 833, 112 S. Ct. 2791, 120 L. Ed. 2d 674, 1992 U.S. 4751. Brief Fact Summary. A Pennsylvania law imposed several obligations on women seeking abortions. The constitutionality of the law was brought into question. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A law is invalid, if its purpose or effect is to place a substantial obstacle (i.e., an “undue burden”) in the path of a woman seeking an abortion at a stage of her pregnancy before the fetus attains viability. ...

Harris v. McRae
Brief

Citation22 Ill. 448 U.S. 917, 101 S. Ct. 39, 65 L. Ed. 2d 1180 (1980) Brief Fact Summary. This case involves the constitutionality of the Hyde Amendment which restricts the use of Medicaid funds for abortions. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An unequal distribution of federal funds does not rise to the level of governmental interference in the guarantee of constitutional rights. ...

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
Brief

Citation22 Ill.510 U.S. 1309, 114 S. Ct. 909, 127 L. Ed. 2d 352 (1994) Brief Fact Summary. Abortion clinics impose informed consent and notice requirements on women seeking to have an abortion. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Laws placing significant obstacles on a woman’s right to an abortion are unconstitutional. ...