Feminist Court Watch
The Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court
 Three of the major abortion rights decisions by the Supreme Court:
Roe v. Wade (1973) (7-2) Established
a woman's right to legal abortion. Divided the extent of that right:
during the first trimester the decision is to be left to a woman
and her doctor; after the first trimester the state can regulate
the procedure in ways that are reasonably related to the health
of the woman; post-viability the state can regulate or ban the procedure,
as long as there is an exception for the life and health of the
woman. more details>>
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania
v. Casey (1992) (5-4) Reaffirmed a woman's right to legal
abortion but allowed states, pre-viability, to create barriers to
that right, as long as those barriers do not create an "undue
burden."
Stenberg v. Carhart (2000)(5-4)
Struck down a ban on a specific abortion procedure because the ban
did not include an exception for the preservation of the health
of the woman, as required under Casey for both pre-and post-viability.
Chronology of US Supreme Court
Reproductive Rights Cases>>
Chief Justice John Roberts
Age 51
Years on the bench 1
Appointed by President George W. Bush (Republican) in 2005
Judge Roberts, as Deputy Solicitor General, argued against Roe v. Wade , and also argued on behalf of Operation Rescue, an extreme anti-abortion group, in Bray v. Alexandria . The Feminist Majority Foundation maintains the largest clinic defense program in the country, and knows that the result of the pro-choice loss in Bray v. Alexandria was increased violence at clinics. In private practice, Roberts argued against affirmative action for minorities.
Justice Stephen G. Breyer
Age 68
Years on the bench 12
Appointed by President Clinton (Democrat) in 1994
Stenberg - voted to strike down the
restriction, and wrote the majority opinion
"The law (Nebraska's partial abortion ban) places 'a substantial
obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable
fetus.'" - J. Breyer, Stenberg v. Carhart
"The record shows that significant medical authority supports
the proposition that in some circumstances, D & X would be the
safest procedure. If so, then the absence of a health exception
will place women at an unnecessary risk of tragic health consequences."
- J. Breyer, Stenberg v. Carhart
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Age 73
Years on the bench 13
Appointed by President Clinton (Democrat) in 1993
During her 1993 confirmation hearings, Justice Ginsburg showed
great support for women's constitutional right to abortion.
Stenberg - voted to strike down
the restriction
"That it is women alone at whom restrictions on abortion are
directed and that women alone bear the burdens and disadvantages
of coerced pregnancy and childbirth has led commentators to explore
the implications of abortion restrictions for women's equality under
a number of constitutional theories. Even more fundamentally, the
availability of safe and legal abortion has made it possible for
a woman to take 'autonomous charge of her full life's course."
- J. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Some Thoughts on Autonomy and Equality
in Relation to Roe v. Wade, 63, N.C.L. Rev. 375, 383 (1985)
"A state cannot constitutionally 'stop a woman from choosing
the procedure her doctor reasonably believes is in her best interest.'"
- J. Ginsburg, with J. Stevens, Stenberg v. Carhart
"This law (Nebraska's restriction) does not save any fetus
from destruction, for it targets only 'a method of performing abortion.'
Nor does the statute seek to protect the lives or health of pregnant
women." - J. Ginsburg, with whom J. Stevens joins, Stenberg
v. Carhart
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
Age 70
Years on the bench 18
Appointed by President Reagan (Republican) in 1988
Casey - voted to uphold a woman's right
to legal abortion but increased restrictions
Stenberg - voted in favor of ban
that did not contain an exception for a woman's health
"The political processes of the State are not to be foreclosed
from enacting laws to promote the life of the unborn and to ensure
respect for all human life and its potential. Id at 871 (joint opinion
of O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter)...the law (Nebraska's ban) denies
no woman the right to choose an abortion and places no undue burden
upon the right. I dissent from the judgement invalidating it."
- J. Kennedy, Stenberg v. Carhart
"Today's decision, that the Constitution of the United States
prevents the prohibition of a horrible mode of abortion, will be
greeted by a firestorm of criticism, as well it should." -
J. Kennedy (joining J. Thomas' dissent), Stenberg v. Carhart
"The regulations imposed on abortion throughout the entire
pregnancy are not unconstitutional unless they unduly burden the
right to an abortion." - Joint opinion, J. Kennedy, J. O'Connor,
and J. Souter, Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Justice Samuel Alito
Age 56
Years on the bench 1
Appointed by President George W. Bush (Republican) in 2006
As a justice department attorney, Alito wrote a memo laying out his proposal for the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade , showing himself to be an advocate and potential architect of a Roe reversal. In 1991, going farther than any other judge on his circuit, Judge Alito argued that, under his interpretation of the Constitution, a state can require women to notify their husbands before they are allowed to have an abortion. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey , Alito dissent.
Justice Antonin Scalia
Age 70
Years on the bench 20
Appointed by President Reagan (Republican) in 1986
Justice Scalia has consistently voted against the protection of
Roe and has likened abortion to sodomy, polygamy, incest,
and suicide.
Casey - voted against the right to
legal abortion
Stenberg - voted in favor of ban
that did not contain an exception for a woman's health
"Roe was plainly wrong- even on the Court's methodology
of 'reasoned judgement,' and even more so (of course) if the proper
criteria of text and tradition are applied." - J. Scalia, Planned
Parenthood v. Casey
"My votes in abortion cases have nothing to do with my pro-life
views. They have to do with the text of the Constitution. And there
is nothing, nothing in the Constitution that guarantees the right
to an abortion." - J. Scalia, The Buffalo News, March 14, 2002
"Today we are told that 30 states are prohibited from banning
one rarely used form of abortion that they believe to border on
infanticide. It is clear that the Constitution does not compel this
result." - J. Scalia
"Abortion is a unique act, in which a woman's exercise of
control over her own body ends, depending on one's view, human life
or potential human life. Nothing in our Federal Constitution deprives
the people of this country of the right to determine whether the
consequences of abortion to the fetus and to society outweigh the
burden of an unwanted pregnancy on the mother. Although a State
may permit abortion, nothing in the Constitution dictates that a
State must do so." - J. Scalia, with J. Thomas and J. Rehnquist,
Stenberg v. Carhart
Justice David H. Souter
Age 67
Years on the bench 16
Appointed by President Bush (Republican) in 1990
Casey - voted to uphold a woman's right
to legal abortion but increased restrictions
Stenberg - voted to strike down the
restriction
"A state regulation that 'has the purpose of effect of placing
a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion
of a nonviable fetus' violates the Constitution." - Joint opinion
of J. O'Connor, J. Kennedy, J. Souter, Planned Parenthood v.
Casey
"Prior to viability 'the woman has a right to choose to terminate
her pregnancy." - Joint opinion of J. O'Connor, J. Kennedy,
J. Souther, Planned Parenthood v. Casey
"We are led to conclude this; the essential holding of Roe
v. Wade should be retained and once again reaffirmed."
- Joint opinion of J. O'Connor, J. Kennedy, J. Souter, Planned
Parenthood v. Casey.
Justice John Paul Stevens
Age 86
Years on the bench 31
Appointed by President Ford (Republican) in 1975
Justice Stevens has consistently voted to uphold a woman's right
to choose abortion in the cases that have come before him on the
Court. He has opposed the weakening of some of the rights won by
women in Roe.
Casey - voted for legal abortion without
new restrictions
Stenberg - voted to strike down the
restriction
"Means chosen by the State to further the interest in potential
life must be calculated to inform the woman's free choice, not hinder
it." - J. Stevens, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S.
877
"The authority to make such a traumatic and yet empowering
decisions is an element of basic human dignity...[A] woman's decision
to terminate her pregnancy is nothing less than a matter of conscience."
- J. Stevens, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. at 992
Justice Clarence Thomas
Age 58
Years on the bench 15
Appointed by President Bush (Republican) in 1991
During his confirmation hearings, Thomas claimed he had no opinion
on Roe v. Wade, he had never read the decision, and he had
never discussed it. Yet, just one year later, with no explanation
as to how he made up his mind, he sided with those who would reverse
Roe and who would overturn the right to safe, legal abortion.
Justice Thomas is considered one of the most conservative justices
on the bench, usually voting with Justice Scalia. He also has consistently
voted against the protection of privacy and a woman's right to terminate
her pregnancy in Roe and believes Roe was incorrectly
decided. He is staunchly opposed to abortion.
Casey - voted against the right to
legal abortion
Stenberg - voted in favor of ban
that did not contain an exception for a woman's health
"In 1973, this Court struck down an Act of the Texas Legislature
that had been in effect since 1857, thereby rendering unconsitutional
abortion statutes in dozens of states. As some of my colleagues
on the Court, past and present, ably demonstrated, that decision
was grievously wrong." - J. Thomas, with J. Scalia and J. Rehnquist,
Stenberg v. Carhart
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