Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
             The Abortion Control Act was passed in 1982 and was amended in 1988 and 1989 in Pennsylvania due to the 1986 court case, Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which deemed the 1982 act unconstitutional, and the 1989 court case, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, which failed to reaffirm Roe v. Wade's "strict scrutiny" standard for reviewing abortion restrictions. The Abortion Control Act requires that a woman seeking an abortion must give her informed consent and specifies that she is to receive information about alternatives to abortion at least 24 hours before the procedure is performed. In the case of a minor receiving an abortion, the statute requires the informed consent of one of her parents, but provides a judicial bypass option in the event a mature minor does not wish to or cannot obtain parental consent. This law also requires that, absent certain exceptions, a married woman seeking an abortion must acknowledge in writing that she has informed her husband of her intent to have the procedure performed. The statute exempts compliance with the foregoing requirements in the case of a "medical emergency" which is defined in the law. The legislation also imposes reporting requirements on facilities that perform abortions.
             Several abortion clinics and one individual physician challenged the constitutionality of this Pennsylvania law. After a three-day trial, a Federal District Court awarded declaratory relief to the plaintiffs. The Federal Appeals court affirmed the unconstitutionality of the spousal notification requirement, but otherwise reversed, holding the remainder of the statute constitutional. The plaintiffs and the state officials petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari.
             The prior decision of Roe v. Wade is referred to quite frequently throughout the case. It was decided in Roe that s...