Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt
| Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt | |
|---|---|
| Argued March 2, 2016 Decided June 27, 2016 | |
| Full case name | Whole Woman's Health; Austin Women's Health Center; Killeen Women's Health Center; Nova Health Systems d/b/a Reproductive Services; Sherwood C. Lynn, Jr., M.D.; Pamela J. Richter, D.O.; and Lendol L. Davis, M.D., on behalf of themselves and their patients, petitioners v. John Hellerstedt, M.D., Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services; Mari Robinson, Executive Director of the Texas Medical Board, in their official capacities |
| Docket no. | 15-274 |
| Citations | 579 U.S. 582 (more) 136 S. Ct. 2292; 195 L. Ed. 2d 665 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Injunction granted, 46 F. Supp. 3d 673, (W.D. Tex. 2014), staying injunction, 769 F.3d 285 (5th Cir.), vacated in part, 135 S. Ct. 399 (2014), aff’d in part, vacated in part, rev’d in part, 790 F.3d 563 (5th Cir.), mandate stayed pending judgment 135 S. Ct. 2923 (2015), cert. granted, 136 S. Ct. 499 (2015). |
| Holding | |
| Both the admitting-privileges and the surgical-center requirements place a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a pre-viability abortion, constitute an undue burden on abortion access, and thus violate the Constitution. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Concurrence | Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Thomas |
| Dissent | Alito, joined by Roberts, Thomas |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV Texas House Bill 2 | |
Superseded by | |
| Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) | |
Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, 579 U.S. 582 (2016), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court announced on June 27, 2016. The Court ruled 5–3 that Texas cannot place restrictions on the delivery of abortion services that create an undue burden for women seeking an abortion. On June 28, 2016, the Supreme Court refused to hear challenges from Wisconsin and Mississippi where federal appeals courts had enjoined the enforcement of similar laws.
The decision in Hellerstedt has not been good law since the Supreme Court repudiated Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022).