Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - Significance, Supreme Court Upholds The Right To Abortion, Further Readings

appellant chief william justices

Appellant

Richard Thornburgh, U.S. Attorney General

Appellee

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Appellant's Claim

That new regulations imposed by Pennsylvania on abortion do not unconstitutionally restrict a woman's right to have an abortion.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Andrew S. Gordon

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Kathryn Kolbert

Justices for the Court

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

Justices Dissenting

Warren E. Burger, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

11 June 1986

Decision

The Supreme Court struck down the regulations.

Related Cases

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 462 U.S. 416 (1983).
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989).

Additional Topics

Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - Significance

Reaffirmed Roe v. Wade. In 1973, the Supreme Court delivered a 7-2 decision in favor of a constitutional right to abortion. Even that landmark decision was not without restrictions, however. Although during the first three months of pregnancy a woman has an essentially unrestricted right to abortion, during months three through six of her pregnancy, the state has a right to regulate abortion to pr…

Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - Supreme Court Upholds The Right To Abortion

Justice Blackmun, author of the majority opinion in Roe, also wrote the opinion of the Court here. Blackmun expressed considerable impatience with attempts on the part of Pennsylvania and other states to restrict access to abortion:In the years since this Court's decision in Roe, States and municipalities have adopted a number of measures seemingly designed to prevent a woman, with the advice of h…

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