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Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Case Date: 05/06/1986
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Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986) was a United States Supreme Court case involving a challenge to Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act of 1982.[1]
Although the law in question was similar to the one in City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, in Thornburgh the Reagan administration asked the justices to overrule Roe v. Wade, a case which Chief Justice Warren Burger had now decided to abandon.[1]
Justice Blackmun's opinion for the court rejected this position, reaffirming Roe. Justice O'Connor distanced herself from the court in dissent, "disput[ing] not only the wisdom but also the legitimacy of the Court's attempt to discredit and pre-empt state abortion regulation regardless of the interests it serves and the impact it has."[2] The 7-2 majority of Roe had now shrunk to 5-4.
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