Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth
United States Supreme Court
428 U.S. 52 (1976)
Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri and two physicians (plaintiffs) challenged a Missouri statute in federal court, including a provision requiring a woman to obtain her husband's consent before an abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy unless a physician certified the procedure necessary to save her life; the state (defendant, led by Attorney General Danforth) argued a decision this significant to a marriage should be made jointly. A divided district court upheld the statute as a whole, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether it is unconstitutional for a state to require the consent of a spouse as a condition precedent for a woman to obtain an abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.