Casey Vs Planned Parenthood Case Study

Elishia May

Professor Moore

GOVT 2305-83004

2 March 2016

In the court case of Casey v. Planned Parenthood in 1992, women had to follow procedures and provisions required by law to receive a legal abortion in the state of Pennsylvania, but a physician representing himself and a class of doctors who provide abortion services brought forth this suit seeking a judgment to see if each of the provisions was unconstitutional. After a three day bench trial, the district court decided that the provisions were unconstitutional and that Pennsylvania was not legally obligated to enforce the policies. Later, the decision was appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals affirmed some of the district court’s opinion and reversed

Planned Parenthood gave way to a change in mentality among more women and helped to raise awareness that abortion is a constitutional act that should be protected. My assigned case in particular is a landmark case because it gave way into a larger part of the women’s rights movement as well as opening the door for allowing a better regulation of abortion among each individual state. Cases that affected Casey v. Planned Parenthood were the decisions in Roe v. Wade, City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health and Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Based on the decision made in this particular case, the rulings of City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health and Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists were overturned. Twenty-three and a half years after this case was out of the Supreme Court, we as informed people who are able to critically think and debate about many issues, have trouble regulating abortion and abortion law because of the issue of law getting in the way of morality and the common man. Abortion and regulations taking care of women and reproductive rights, even now, is still a hot-button issue debated quite often because of law versus

In my perspective in the case of Casey v. Planned Parenthood, the most important aspect of the rulings is that a woman should be able to make her own decisions in regards to her own body and life. I believe that overruling the provisions that the state of Pennsylvania required by law to complete before an abortion occurs should have occurred. Personally, I believe that a woman has a right to do what she does or does not want with her own body, no matter if the decisions she may or may not make were to not, per se, follow along with my personal morals. People have the right to do what they feel is right for themselves. On a social level, this allows for more debate because all sorts of people have different opinions on what they all think is the start of human life. I believe that because of the rules and regulations going on due to the topic of women’s health and abortion, the government is becoming too intrusive towards women’s privacy and her right to it. As a woman, I personally do not want another person, let alone the government, getting in the way of making a decision that is already difficult for me on a personal level. Taking care of what I would need to take care of is the most important objective for me, no matter what law or laws get in the way. Having to know what law prevents me from doing something that I know is in my best interest is extremely frustrating in and of itself, so that is why I believe that government should have a hands-off policy on