Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth

Appellant

Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri; David Hall, M.D.; Michael Freiman, M.D.

Appellee

John C. Danforth, Attorney General of Missouri

Appellant's Claim

That under the guidelines established by the Court in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, and under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, a Missouri abortion statute is unconstitutional.

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

John C. Danforth

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Frank Susman

Justices for the Court

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

Justices Dissenting

Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

1 July 1976

Significance

In the wake of the Court's monumental ruling in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which established the legality of abortion, many states had adopted strict statutes designed to place limits on that practice. Danforth marked the first significant challenge to these post- Roe laws. It expanded the rights established in the earlier cases through its ruling that requirements of spousal and parental consent for abortion are constitutional.

Related Cases

• Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (1972).
• Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
• Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973).
• Bellotti v. Baird, 428 U.S. 132 (1976).
• Beal v. Doe, 432 U.S. 454 (1977).
• Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464 (1977).
• Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297 (1980).
• Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 462 U.S. 416 (1983).