Doe v. Bolton

Appellant

Mary Doe

Appellee

Arthur K. Bolton, Attorney General of Georgia

Appellant's Claim

That a Georgia abortion law was unconstitutional because it invaded the rights of privacy and liberty, denied equal protection and procedural due process, and was vague.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Margie Pitts Hames

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Dorothy T. Beasley

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun (writing for the Court), William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger, William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Potter Stewart

Justices Dissenting

William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

22 January 1973

Decision

Modified and affirmed the district court's ruling and decided that the three procedural conditions of the law violated the Fourteenth Amendment and that the residence requirement violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Constitution.

Related Cases

• United States v. Vuitch, 402 U.S. 62 (1971).
• Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989).
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).

Further Readings

• Abortion Law Homepage. http://member.aol.com/abtrng/
• Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford Press, 1992.
• Levy, Leonard W., ed. Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan, 1986.