tates could decide their own statutes regarding abortion. The judgment and opinion of the court were delivered by Justices O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter. They concluded that the essential holding of Roe v. Wade should be retained and once again reaffirmed, but revoked the longstanding definition of the right to abortion as "fundamental." It is necessary to state the holding of Roe v. Wade since it had such an influence in the decision of this case. The holding that the Justices reaffirmed has three parts. First, before viability, the State's interests are not strong enough to support a prohibition of an abortion or the prohibition of abortion or the imposition of a substantial obstacle to the woman's effective right to elect the procedure. Second is a confirmation of the State's power to restrict abortions after fetal viability, if the law contains exceptions for pregnancies which endanger a woman's life or health. Third is the principal that the State has a legitimate interest from the outset of the pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the fetus that may become a child.
             It is decided here that the Constitution places limits on a State's right to interfere with a person's most basic decisions about family and parenthood. The case decision claims that these matters are central to
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