Key Supreme Court Cases on Abortion and Assisted Suicide

This set of flashcards covers key terms, concepts, and legal principles related to significant Supreme Court cases on abortion and assisted suicide.

Roe v. Wade

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to an abortion, based on privacy. It created rules for when states could control abortion based on pregnancy stages (trimesters): no control in the first trimester, some health-related control in the second, and more control or bans in the third (when the fetus could survive outside the womb), unless the mother's life or health was at risk.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

This 1992 Supreme Court case looked at Roe v. Wade again. It still said abortion was a right but changed how states could regulate it. It introduced the 'undue burden' rule, meaning states couldn't make laws that put major obstacles in the way of a woman getting an abortion before the fetus could survive on its own. The Court largely stuck to past rulings but let states add things like waiting periods or parental consent for minors.

State v. Gray

In this case, the court decided if a pregnant woman's drug use counted as child endangerment under existing laws. The court ruled that these laws didn't cover actions happening before birth, so using drugs while pregnant was not seen as child endangerment under that specific law.

Washington v. Glucksberg (1997)

In 1997, the Supreme Court decided that people do not have a constitutional right to get help from a doctor to end their life (physician-assisted suicide). Washington state had banned this, and the Court upheld the ban, saying that assisted suicide was not a long-standing or protected freedom in American history.

Vacco v. Quill

Also in 1997, this case challenged New York's ban on assisted suicide. People argued it was unfair because you could refuse life support (which leads to death) but couldn't get help to die. The Supreme Court upheld New York's ban, explaining that letting someone die by removing life support is different from actively helping someone end their life.