Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 12 (1992)

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Cite as: 505 U. S. 833 (1992)

Syllabus

in unborn life. It may delay, but does not prohibit, abortions; and both it and the informed consent provisions do not apply in medical emergencies. Pp. 966-970. 6. The statute's parental consent provision is entirely consistent with this Court's previous decisions involving such requirements. See, e. g., Planned Parenthood Assn. of Kansas City, Mo., Inc. v. Ashcroft, 462 U. S. 476. It is reasonably designed to further the State's important and legitimate interest "in the welfare of its young citizens, whose immaturity, inexperience, and lack of judgment may sometimes impair their ability to exercise their rights wisely." Hodgson, supra, at 444. Pp. 970-971. 7. Section 3214(a)'s requirement that abortion facilities file a report on each abortion is constitutional because it rationally furthers the State's legitimate interests in advancing the state of medical knowledge concerning maternal health and prenatal life, in gathering statistical information with respect to patients, and in ensuring compliance with other provisions of the Act, while keeping the reports completely confidential. Public disclosure of other reports made by facilities receiving public funds—those identifying the facilities and any parent, subsidiary, or affiliated organizations, § 3207(b), and those revealing the total number of abortions performed, broken down by trimester, § 3214(f)—are rationally related to the State's legitimate interest in informing taxpayers as to who is benefiting from public funds and what services the funds are supporting; and records relating to the expenditure of public funds are generally available to the public under Pennsylvania law. Pp. 976-977.

Justice Scalia, joined by The Chief Justice, Justice White, and Justice Thomas, concluded that a woman's decision to abort her unborn child is not a constitutionally protected "liberty" because (1) the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it, and (2) the longstanding traditions of American society have permitted it to be legally proscribed. See, e. g., Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 497 U. S. 502, 520 (Scalia, J., concurring). The Pennsylvania statute should be upheld in its entirety under the rational basis test. Pp. 979-981.

O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, III, V-A, V-C, and VI, in which Blackmun and Stevens, JJ., joined, an opinion with respect to Part V-E, in which Stevens, J., joined, and an opinion with respect to Parts IV, V-B, and V-D. Stevens, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, post, p. 911. Black-mun, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, concurring in the judgment in part, and dissenting in part, post, p. 922. Rehnquist, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which

841

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