Abortion: the never ending controversy.

• Author: Mejeur, Jeanne
• Position: US

The Casey decision, which pleased nobody, changed the terms of the abortion debate and the focus of state legislation.

In the year and a half since the U.S. Supreme Court's latest ruling on a major abortion case, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania vs. Casey, the debate on abortion has grown no less heated, but it's no longer simply a matter of pro-life vs. pro-choice.

In the battle over abortion, the focus has changed from whether or not abortion will be allowed to what kinds of restrictions are permissible.

The Casey ruling pleased no one. After months of speculation, pro-life forces were surprised and disappointed that Roe vs. Wade hadn't been overturned and abortion outlawed; pro-choice supporters said Roe had been decimated.

In its opinion, the Court made it clear that Roe vs. Wade was still the law of the land, and that states did not have the power to ban abortion prior to viability. But the Court gave the states a stronger hand in imposing restrictions on access to abortion by upholding almost all of the limits of Pennsylvania's statute.

Whether or not one agrees with the Casey decision, it was part of a trend in recent rulings on abortion cases that have continued to support a woman's right to privacy under the 14th Amendment, but have given greater latitude to the states in limiting that right.

The Casey decision questioned any "undue burden" placed by state restrictions. The Pennsylvania statute required that a woman be given specific information so that her consent to an abortion would be informed; that she wait 24 hours after being given that information before the procedure could be performed; that if married, she notify her husband; and that if a minor, she obtain the informed consent of one parent.

The Court upheld the informed consent, waiting period and parental consent provisions, ruling that they did not place an undue burden on a woman seeking an abortion.

The husband notification provision was rejected as unconstitutional based largely on equal protection rather than on the right to privacy. To have upheld spousal notification requirements would have given husbands legal authority over their wives and "precluded women's full and independent legal status under the Constitution."

In the flurry of legislative activity since the Casey decision, several trends have become evident. For the most part, states have stopped trying to ban abortion, since such laws would be unconstitutional based on Casey. But there...