Overview Unit 4 -Assignment And Individual Project
The Planned Parenthood of Southern PA v. Casey case was filed as a petition to the supreme court after the Pennsylvania legislature introduced new provisions to govern abortion. Notably, the new statute required informed consent, a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, and a notice issued to husbands, in the instance of a married woman (“Planned Parenthood”, n.d.). In its 5-to-4 decision, the court upheld the new provisions except for the husband notification requirement. Despite the court moving away from the trimester framework as used in Roe v. Wade, I agree with its analysis in Casey and its ruling on the Pennsylvania statute, as it acknowledged not only the right of privacy but also state’s legitimate interest to protect potentiality of human life.
Based on an analysis of the case, I tend to agree with the court ruling as it took a multifaceted approach in establishing the final decision. The court’s interpretation of the undue burden was somewhat an alternative way of acknowledging the right to privacy while gauging it against the legitimate interest of states to protect life as provided in the fourteenth amendment. Notably, the court acknowledged that women have the right to choose to have an abortion. Still, the state had an obligation to protect life, which led to the decision to uphold most of the provisions aimed at protecting the lives of individuals seeking an abortion. Also, the court acknowledged the existence of a trimester framework, which allowed states to regulate abortions in the third trimester. As such, the jurors probably viewed the husband requirement as legislation to slow down the abortion process and deny women the right to privacy ones the fetus attained the viability stage. Therefore, in my opinion, the decision arrived at was critically analyzed based on provisions of the fourteenth amendment and legitimate interest of states in matters of abortion.
Extension Activity
MS Code § 41-41-45 (2017) is a Mississippi code on public health that regulates surgical and medical procedures and the consent performance of an abortion. The statute prohibits abortion in the State of Mississippi except in the case where necessary to protect the mother’s life or where the pregnancy results from rape (“2017 Mississippi Code”, n.d.). In my view, the statute complies with the decision in Casey as it fails the undue-burden test, whereby it poses a substantial obstacle in the path of seeking abortion within the allowed trimester.
References
“2017 Mississippi Code” (n.d.). Justia US Law. Retrieved from https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2017/title-41/chapter-41/performance-of-abortion-consent/section-41-41-45/
“Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey” (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1991/91-744
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