The Georgia law in question permitted abortion only in cases of rape, severe fetal deformity, or the possibility of severe or fatal injury to the mother. Other restrictions included the requirement that the procedure be approved in writing by three physicians and by a three-member special committee that either (1) continued pregnancy would endanger the pregnant woman's life or "seriously and permanently" injure her health; (2) the fetus would "very likely be born with a grave, permanent and irremediable mental or physical defect"; or (3) the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.[3][4] In addition, only Georgia residents could receive abortions under this statutory scheme: non-residents could not have an abortion in Georgia under any circumstances.
The plaintiff, a pregnant woman who was given the pseudonym "Mary Doe" in court papers to protect her identity, sued Arthur K. Bolton, then the Attorney General of Georgia, as the official responsible for enforcing the law in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The anonymous plaintiff has since been identified as Sandra Cano, a young mother of three who was nine weeks pregnant at the time the lawsuit was filed. Cano, who died in 2014, described herself as pro-life and claimed her attorney, Margie Pitts Hames, lied to her in order to have a plaintiff.[5][6]
Hames claimed that Mrs. Doe had a neurochemical disorder which in her opinion and in the opinion of her physician made it inadvisable to continue her pregnancy. The lawyer claimed that the only way to avoid getting pregnant in the future was for Mr. and Mrs. Doe to abstain from sex. This argument described an ongoing harm to the couple's marital satisfaction in order to prevent judges from dismissing the case as moot once Cano gave birth.[7]
On October 14, 1970, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia consisting of Northern District of Georgia Judges Albert John Henderson, Sidney Oslin Smith Jr., and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Lewis Render Morgan unanimously declared the conditional restrictions portion of the law unconstitutional, though upheld the medical approval and residency requirements.[8] The court also declined to issue an injunction against enforcement of the law, similarly to the district court in the case Roe v. Wade. The plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court under a statute, since repealed, permitting bypass of the circuit appeals court.
The oral arguments and re-arguments followed the same schedule as those in Roe. Atlanta attorney Hames represented Doe at the hearings, while Georgia assistant attorney general Dorothy Toth Beasley represented Bolton.
Opinion of the Courtedit
The same 7–2 majority that struck down a Texas abortion law in Roe v. Wade invalidated most of the remaining restrictions of the Georgia abortion law, including the medical approval and residency requirements. The Court reiterated the protected "right to privacy," which applied to matters involving marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing, and education.[3]JusticeHarry A. Blackmun wrote the majority opinion for the Court, in which he explained "the sensitive and emotional nature" of the issue and "the deep and seemingly absolute convictions" on both sides.[4] Justice Blackmun went on to conclude that as a constitutional matter, the right to privacy was "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."[3][4]
Together, Doe and Roe declared abortion as a constitutional right and overturned most laws against abortion in other U.S. states. Roe legalized abortion nationwide for approximately the first six months of pregnancy until the point of fetal viability.[3]
Definition of healthedit
The Court's opinion in Doe v. Bolton stated that a woman may obtain an abortion after viability, if necessary to protect her health. The Court defined "health" as follows:
Whether, in the words of the Georgia statute, "an abortion is necessary" is a professional judgment that the Georgia physician will be called upon to make routinely. We agree with the District Court, 319 F. Supp., at 1058, that the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors - physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age - relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.[1]
The records for Doe concerning Cano were sealed until 1988, when Cano had them unsealed in order to answer questions she had about the case. After abortion rights advocates found out about Cano's legal and political actions, her car was shot at and vandalized with graffiti,[9] and someone shot at her while she was on her front porch holding her baby grandchild.[10]
In 2003, Sandra Cano filed a motion to re-open the case claiming that she had not been aware that the case had been filed on her behalf and that if she had known she would not have supported the litigation.[11] The district court denied her motion, and she appealed. When the appeals court also denied her motion,[12] she requested review by the United States Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court declined to hear Sandra Cano's suit to overturn the ruling.[13] Sandra Cano died on September 30, 2014.[6]
See alsoedit
Canadian Supreme Court case of R. v. Morgentaler finding Canada's abortion law unconstitutional
^ abcdGoldstein, Leslie (1994). Contemporary Cases in Women's Rights. Madison: The University of Wisconsin. pp. 16–17.
^ abcCushman, Clare (2001). Supreme Court Decisions and Women's Rights. Washington D.C.: CQ Press. p. 189.
^White, Gayle. "Roe v. Wade Role Just a Page in Rocky Life Story", The Atlanta Journal and Constitution (2003-01-22).
^ abWetzstein, Cheryl (October 1, 2014). "Sandra Cano, the 'Mary Doe' of landmark abortion case, dies". The Washington Times. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
^Substantive Due Process by any other name: The Abortion Cases by Richard A. Epstein, The Supreme Court Review 1973, University of Chicago Press, 1974, page 165
^Doe v. Bolton, 319 F. Supp. 1048 (N.D. Ga. 1970).
^Plaintiff in Prominent Abortion Case Reunited with Last Missing Child by Gary L. Carter, Associated Press, December 8, 1989
^Extreme Makeover: Women Transformed by Christ Not Conformed to the Culture by Teresa Tomeo, San Francisco, California: Ignatius Press, 2011, page 67
^“'Mary Doe' of Doe v. Bolton Files Motion To Overturn Companion Case to Roe v. Wade” September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, (2003-08-27).
Text of Doe v. Bolton, 410U.S. 179 (1973) is available from:CornellCourtListenerFindlawGoogle ScholarJustiaLibrary of Congress
Oral transcripts
Audio of oral arguments, oyez.org, transcripts accompany the audio
Transcript of First Oral Argument in Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973), aul.org, edited September 2011
Transcript of Reargument in Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973), aul.org, edited September 2011
Other media
Case file for Lewis Powell, memos and annotated copies for Doe v. Bolton and Roe v. Wade, law.wlu.edu
United States Senate Committee of the Judiciary Testimony of Sandra Cano 2007-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
Attorney General Arthur Bolton with Governor Jimmy Carter, 1972, photo taken December 1972, Digital Collections, Georgia State University Library
November 13, 2023
bolton, 1973, decision, supreme, court, united, states, overturning, abortion, georgia, supreme, court, decision, released, january, 1973, same, decision, better, known, case, wade, supreme, court, united, statesargued, december, 1971reargued, october, 1972dec. Doe v Bolton 410 U S 179 1973 was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning the abortion law of Georgia 1 The Supreme Court s decision was released on January 22 1973 the same day as the decision in the better known case of Roe v Wade 2 Doe v BoltonSupreme Court of the United StatesArgued December 13 1971Reargued October 11 1972Decided January 22 1973Full case nameMary Doe v Arthur K Bolton Attorney General of Georgia et al Citations410 U S 179 more 93 S Ct 739 35 L Ed 2d 201Related casesRoe v WadeDecisionOpinionCase historyPriorDoe v Bolton 319 F Supp 1048 N D Ga 1970 HoldingThe three procedural conditions in 26 1202 b of Ga Criminal Code violate the Fourteenth Amendment District Court for the Northern District of Georgia affirmed in part and reversed in part Court membershipChief Justice Warren E Burger Associate Justices William O Douglas William J Brennan Jr Potter Stewart Byron WhiteThurgood Marshall Harry BlackmunLewis F Powell Jr William RehnquistCase opinionsMajorityBlackmun joined by Burger Douglas Brennan Stewart Marshall PowellConcurrenceBurgerConcurrenceDouglasConcurrenceStewartDissentWhite joined by RehnquistDissentRehnquistLaws appliedU S Const Amend XIV Ga Criminal Code 26 1202 b Superseded byDobbs v Jackson Women s Health Organization 2022 Contents 1 Background 2 Opinion of the Court 2 1 Definition of health 3 Subsequent developments 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe Georgia law in question permitted abortion only in cases of rape severe fetal deformity or the possibility of severe or fatal injury to the mother Other restrictions included the requirement that the procedure be approved in writing by three physicians and by a three member special committee that either 1 continued pregnancy would endanger the pregnant woman s life or seriously and permanently injure her health 2 the fetus would very likely be born with a grave permanent and irremediable mental or physical defect or 3 the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest 3 4 In addition only Georgia residents could receive abortions under this statutory scheme non residents could not have an abortion in Georgia under any circumstances The plaintiff a pregnant woman who was given the pseudonym Mary Doe in court papers to protect her identity sued Arthur K Bolton then the Attorney General of Georgia as the official responsible for enforcing the law in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia The anonymous plaintiff has since been identified as Sandra Cano a young mother of three who was nine weeks pregnant at the time the lawsuit was filed Cano who died in 2014 described herself as pro life and claimed her attorney Margie Pitts Hames lied to her in order to have a plaintiff 5 6 Hames claimed that Mrs Doe had a neurochemical disorder which in her opinion and in the opinion of her physician made it inadvisable to continue her pregnancy The lawyer claimed that the only way to avoid getting pregnant in the future was for Mr and Mrs Doe to abstain from sex This argument described an ongoing harm to the couple s marital satisfaction in order to prevent judges from dismissing the case as moot once Cano gave birth 7 On October 14 1970 a three judge panel of the U S District Court for the Northern District of Georgia consisting of Northern District of Georgia Judges Albert John Henderson Sidney Oslin Smith Jr and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Lewis Render Morgan unanimously declared the conditional restrictions portion of the law unconstitutional though upheld the medical approval and residency requirements 8 The court also declined to issue an injunction against enforcement of the law similarly to the district court in the case Roe v Wade The plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court under a statute since repealed permitting bypass of the circuit appeals court The oral arguments and re arguments followed the same schedule as those in Roe Atlanta attorney Hames represented Doe at the hearings while Georgia assistant attorney general Dorothy Toth Beasley represented Bolton Opinion of the Court editThe same 7 2 majority that struck down a Texas abortion law in Roe v Wade invalidated most of the remaining restrictions of the Georgia abortion law including the medical approval and residency requirements The Court reiterated the protected right to privacy which applied to matters involving marriage procreation contraception family relationships child rearing and education 3 Justice Harry A Blackmun wrote the majority opinion for the Court in which he explained the sensitive and emotional nature of the issue and the deep and seemingly absolute convictions on both sides 4 Justice Blackmun went on to conclude that as a constitutional matter the right to privacy was broad enough to encompass a woman s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy 3 4 Together Doe and Roe declared abortion as a constitutional right and overturned most laws against abortion in other U S states Roe legalized abortion nationwide for approximately the first six months of pregnancy until the point of fetal viability 3 Definition of health edit The Court s opinion in Doe v Bolton stated that a woman may obtain an abortion after viability if necessary to protect her health The Court defined health as follows Whether in the words of the Georgia statute an abortion is necessary is a professional judgment that the Georgia physician will be called upon to make routinely We agree with the District Court 319 F Supp at 1058 that the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors physical emotional psychological familial and the woman s age relevant to the well being of the patient All these factors may relate to health 1 Subsequent developments edit nbsp Sandra Cano right at the 1998 March for LifeThe records for Doe concerning Cano were sealed until 1988 when Cano had them unsealed in order to answer questions she had about the case After abortion rights advocates found out about Cano s legal and political actions her car was shot at and vandalized with graffiti 9 and someone shot at her while she was on her front porch holding her baby grandchild 10 In 2003 Sandra Cano filed a motion to re open the case claiming that she had not been aware that the case had been filed on her behalf and that if she had known she would not have supported the litigation 11 The district court denied her motion and she appealed When the appeals court also denied her motion 12 she requested review by the United States Supreme Court However the Supreme Court declined to hear Sandra Cano s suit to overturn the ruling 13 Sandra Cano died on September 30 2014 6 See also editCanadian Supreme Court case of R v Morgentaler finding Canada s abortion law unconstitutional German Federal Constitutional Court abortion decision List of United States Supreme Court cases volume 410References edit Doe v Bolton 410 U S 179 1973 Roe v Wade 410 U S 113 1973 a b c d Goldstein Leslie 1994 Contemporary Cases in Women s Rights Madison The University of Wisconsin pp 16 17 a b c Cushman Clare 2001 Supreme Court Decisions and Women s Rights Washington D C CQ Press p 189 White Gayle Roe v Wade Role Just a Page in Rocky Life Story The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 2003 01 22 a b Wetzstein Cheryl October 1 2014 Sandra Cano the Mary Doe of landmark abortion case dies The Washington Times Retrieved February 1 2018 Substantive Due Process by any other name The Abortion Cases by Richard A Epstein The Supreme Court Review 1973 University of Chicago Press 1974 page 165 Doe v Bolton 319 F Supp 1048 N D Ga 1970 Plaintiff in Prominent Abortion Case Reunited with Last Missing Child by Gary L Carter Associated Press December 8 1989 Extreme Makeover Women Transformed by Christ Not Conformed to the Culture by Teresa Tomeo San Francisco California Ignatius Press 2011 page 67 Mary Doe of Doe v Bolton Files Motion To Overturn Companion Case to Roe v Wade Archived September 27 2007 at the Wayback Machine Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report 2003 08 27 Cano v Baker 435 F 3d 1337 11th Cir 2006 Mears Bill Court won t rethink Mary Doe abortion case CNN 2006 10 10 External links editWritten opinions nbsp Works related to Doe v Bolton at Wikisource Text of Doe v Bolton 410 U S 179 1973 is available from Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oral transcripts Audio of oral arguments oyez org transcripts accompany the audio Transcript of First Oral Argument in Doe v Bolton 410 U S 179 1973 aul org edited September 2011 Transcript of Reargument in Doe v Bolton 410 U S 179 1973 aul org edited September 2011Other media Case file for Lewis Powell memos and annotated copies for Doe v Bolton and Roe v Wade law wlu edu United States Senate Committee of the Judiciary Testimony of Sandra Cano Archived 2007 03 01 at the Wayback Machine Attorney General Arthur Bolton with Governor Jimmy Carter 1972 photo taken December 1972 Digital Collections Georgia State University Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Doe v Bolton amp oldid 1183418126, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
