Malcolm Rivera
The 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling by the US Supreme Court upheld the right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade in 1973. The ruling introduced the 'undue burden' standard, which allowed states to implement abortion restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy. The undue burden standard was defined as a legal restriction that had the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus. The ruling was overturned in 2022 by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which deemed the undue burden standard unworkable due to its ambiguous nature.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1992 |
| Court | Supreme Court of the United States |
| Decision | The Court upheld the right to have an abortion as established by Roe v. Wade (1973) and restored the undue burden standard when evaluating state-imposed restrictions on that right. |
| Undue Burden Definition | A legal restriction posing an undue burden has "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus." |
| Undue Burden Test | Courts must "consider the burdens a law imposes on abortion access together with the benefits those laws confer." |
| Roe v. Wade | The trimester framework of Roe v. Wade was overturned in favor of a viability analysis, allowing states to implement abortion restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy. |
| Spousal Notification | The requirement of spousal notification was invalidated as it was deemed unduly burdensome, potentially exposing married women to spousal abuse, violence, and economic duress. |
| Parental Consent | The requirement for minors to obtain parental consent prior to undergoing an abortion procedure was upheld. |
| Informed Consent | The provision for informed consent was upheld as it was not considered an undue burden. |
| Waiting Period | A waiting period prior to undergoing an abortion procedure was upheld. |
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What You'll Learn
The trimester framework
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the Supreme Court rejected the trimester framework, stating that it was too rigid and sometimes contradicted the state's exercise of its powers. The trimester framework was replaced with a viability framework, which allowed states to implement abortion restrictions that apply during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The viability framework focuses on the viability of the fetus, which is defined as when there is a realistic possibility of maintaining and nourishing life outside the womb. Under this framework, a state could ban abortion once a fetus becomes viable unless the health of the mother was at risk.
The decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey also introduced the concept of "undue burden," which refers to state statutes that have the purpose or effect of restricting abortions by placing substantial obstacles in the path of someone seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus. An undue burden is found even if a statute purports to further the interest of potential life or another valid state interest, as long as it places a substantial obstacle in the path of access to abortion.
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Viability analysis
In the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the authors of the plurality opinion replaced the Roe trimester framework with a viability analysis. This viability analysis framework allowed states to implement abortion restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy. The undue burden standard was established in this case, which held that abortion restrictions would be unconstitutional if they were enacted with the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.
The Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decided that the "undue burden" standard was standardless in application, causing inconsistency in its application by courts. This decision in 2022 overruled the undue burden standard established in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The undue burden standard was previously developed by O'Connor in her dissent in Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health. According to the dissenters in Akron, a legal restriction posing an undue burden is one that has "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus". An undue burden is found even if a statute claims to further the interest of potential life or another valid state interest, as long as it places a substantial obstacle in the path of access to abortion.
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court upheld four provisions of the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982 but invalidated the requirement of spousal notification. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld all regulations except for the husband notification requirement, which was deemed unduly burdensome as it potentially exposed married women to spousal abuse, violence, and economic duress.
In conclusion, the viability analysis framework established in Planned Parenthood v. Casey allowed states to impose abortion restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy. The undue burden standard, which was later overruled, held that abortion restrictions would be unconstitutional if they placed substantial obstacles in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus.
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Spousal notification
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld all regulations except for the spousal notification requirement. The spousal notification law required that a married woman notify her husband of her intended abortion.
The Third Circuit concluded that the husband notification was unduly burdensome because it potentially exposed married women to spousal abuse, violence, and economic duress at the hands of their husbands. Justice Blackmun argued for a woman's right to privacy and insisted that all non-de-minimis abortion regulations were subject to strict scrutiny. Using such an analysis, he argued that the reporting regulations were unconstitutional.
JUSTICE O'CONNOR, JUSTICE KENNEDY, and JUSTICE SOUTER concluded that all of the statute's recordkeeping and reporting requirements, except those relating to spousal notification, are constitutional. They concluded that the reporting provision relating to the reasons a married woman has not notified her husband that she intends to have an abortion must be invalidated because it places an undue burden on a woman's choice.
Section 3209's husband notification provision constitutes an undue burden and is therefore invalid. A significant number of women will likely be prevented from obtaining an abortion just as surely as if Pennsylvania had outlawed the procedure entirely. Furthermore, it cannot be claimed that the father's interest in the fetus' welfare is equal to the mother's protected liberty, since it is an inescapable biological fact that state regulation with respect to the fetus will have a far greater impact on the pregnant woman's bodily integrity than it will on the husband.
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State abortion restrictions
In the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the right to have an abortion as established by Roe v. Wade (1973) and introduced the "undue burden" standard for evaluating state-imposed restrictions on abortion rights. This standard replaced Roe's trimester framework with a focus on viability, allowing states to implement abortion restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The "undue burden" standard, previously developed by O'Connor in her dissent in Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, refers to state statutes that restrict abortions and place substantial obstacles in the path of someone seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus. Under this standard, abortion restrictions would be unconstitutional if they were enacted with the purpose or effect of creating a substantial obstacle for those seeking abortions. The Court in Casey upheld four provisions of the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982, including informed consent, a 24-hour waiting period, and parental consent for minors, while invalidating the requirement of spousal notification as it was considered unduly burdensome.
The undue burden standard was reaffirmed in subsequent cases such as Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016) and June Medical Services v. Russo (2020), where courts were required to consider the burdens a law imposes on abortion access together with the benefits those laws confer. However, in 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Casey and Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, finding the undue burden standard unworkable due to its ambiguous nature and inconsistent application across courts.
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Abortion rights
In the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the US Supreme Court upheld the right to have an abortion as established by Roe v. Wade in 1973. The Court, however, replaced Roe's trimester framework with a focus on viability, allowing states to implement abortion restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy. This viability framework, determined by whether the fetus could survive outside the womb, was used to evaluate when the state's interests could outweigh the interests of a pregnant woman.
The Court also replaced Roe's strict scrutiny standard with the "undue burden" standard, which had been previously developed by O'Connor in her dissent in Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health. According to the Court, an "undue burden" exists when a legal restriction has "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus". This standard was considered more lenient to the state, tilting the balance in its favour when making determinations about abortion restrictions.
The undue burden standard was further clarified in the 2016 case of Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, where the Supreme Court stated that courts must consider the burdens a law imposes on abortion access together with the benefits those laws confer. This was reaffirmed in the 2020 case of June Medical Services v. Russo, where the plurality decision written by Justice Breyer and joined by Justices Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor, agreed with this interpretation.
In 2022, the undue burden standard was overruled and made moot by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which eliminated the framework while overruling Casey and Roe v. Wade. The Court in Dobbs decided that the undue burden standard was standardless in application, causing ambiguity and inconsistent application across courts.
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Frequently asked questions
The "undue burden" standard is a legal standard that protects abortion rights. It was established in the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey case, where the Supreme Court upheld Roe v. Wade but replaced the trimester framework with a focus on viability. The undue burden standard holds that abortion restrictions are unconstitutional if they place a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus.
An "undue burden" is a legal restriction that has "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus". An example of an undue burden is the spousal notification requirement, which was invalidated because it potentially exposed married women to spousal abuse, violence, and economic duress.
The undue burden standard allows the state to implement abortion restrictions that apply during the first trimester of pregnancy. The state has a legitimate interest in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the fetus from the outset of the pregnancy. The government can pursue its interest in protecting the health of the pregnant person through statutory restrictions, provided that they do not impose an undue burden.
