Doe v. Bolton
| Doe v. Bolton | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued December 13, 1971 Reargued October 11, 1972 Decided January 22, 1973 |
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| Full case name | ‘Mary Doe’ v. Arthur K. Bolton, Attorney General of Georgia, et al. |
| Citations | 410 U.S. 179 (more) |
| Holding | |
| The three procedural conditions in 26-1202 (b) of Ga. Criminal Code violate the Fourteenth Amendment. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Blackmun, joined by Burger, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell |
| Concurrence | Burger |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
| Dissent | White, joined by Rehnquist |
| Dissent | Rehnquist |
Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court overturning the abortion law of Georgia. 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, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Doe v. Bolton challenged Georgia's much more conservative abortion statute.
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. 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 22-year-old mother of three who was nine weeks pregnant at the time the lawsuit was filed. Cano describes herself as pro-life and claims her attorney, Margie Pitts Hames, lied to her in order to have a plaintiff.
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