Concurrence Stevens Date decided 1986 | Dissent Burger | |
Full case name Thornburgh, Governor of Pennsylvania, et al. v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, et al. Citations 476 U.S. 747 (more)106 S. Ct. 2169; 90 L. Ed. 2d 779; 54 U.S.L.W. 4618 Prior history 737 F.2d 283 (3d Cir. 1984 (affirmed) Majority Blackmun, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens Similar Webster v Reproductive Health Se, Bellotti v Baird, Harris v McRae, Stenberg v Carhart, Planned Parenthood v Casey | ||
Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986) was a United States Supreme Court case involving a challenge to Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act of 1982.
Contents
Case facts
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists sought an injunction to all enforcement of the Pennsylvania law. Although the law in question was similar to the one in City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, in Thornburgh the Reagan Administration asked the justices to overrule Roe v. Wade, a case which Chief Justice Burger had now decided to abandon.
Opinion
Justice Blackmun's opinion for the Court rejected the Reagan Administration's position, reaffirming Roe. Justice O'Connor distanced herself from the court in dissent, "disput[ing] not only the wisdom but also the legitimacy of the Court's attempt to discredit and pre-empt state abortion regulation regardless of the interests it serves and the impact it has." The 7-2 majority of Roe had now shrunk to 5-4.
Aftermath
Justice Blackmun's opinion in Thornburgh emphasized women's rights, rather than the rights of physicians, the emphasis of his opinion in Roe. He wrote: "Few decisions are more personal and intimate, more properly private, or more basic to individual dignity and autonomy, than a woman's decision - with the guidance of her physician and within the limits specified in Roe - whether to end her pregnancy. A woman's right to make that choice freely is fundamental."