Bellotti v. Baird (1979)

Bellotti v. Baird

Argued February 27, 1979
Decided July 2, 1979
Full case name Bellotti, Attorney General of Massachusetts, et al. v. Baird, et al.
Citations

443 U.S. 622 (more)

99 S. Ct. 3035; 61 L. Ed. 2d 797; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 17
Prior history 450 F.Supp. 997, affirmed.
Holding
States may require parental notification before a minor may obtain an abortion, but must provide an alternative procedure to parental approval.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Case opinions
Majority Powell, joined by Burger, Stewart, Rehnquist
Concurrence Rehnquist
Concurrence Stevens (in judgment only), joined by Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun
Dissent White
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622 (1979) is a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that teenagers do not have to secure parental consent to obtain an abortion.

The Court, 8-1, elaborates on its parental consent decision of 1976. It implies that states may be able to require a pregnant, unmarried minor to obtain parental consent to an abortion so long as the state law provides an alternative procedure to parental approval, such as letting the minor seek a state judge's approval instead. This plurality opinion declined to fully extend the right to seek and obtain an abortion, granted to adult women in Roe v. Wade, to minors.[1] The Court rejected this extension to minors by placing emphasis on the especially vulnerable nature of children, their "inability to make critical decisions in an informed and mature manner; and the importance of the parental role in child rearing."[1][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wharton, Linda (2009). "Roe at Thirty-Six and Beyond: Enhancing Protection for Abortion Rights Through STate Constitutions". William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law.
  2. ↑ Bellotti v. Baird (Bellotti II), 443 U.S. 622, 643 (1979)

External links


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