Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379 (1979) was a United States Supreme Court abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 rights case, which held void for vagueness

Void for vagueness

Void for vagueness is a legal concept in American constitutional law that states that a given statute is void and unenforceable if it is too vague for the average citizen to understand. There are several ways, senses or reasons a statute might be considered vague...

 part of Pennsylvania's 1974 Abortion Control Act. The section in question was the following:

(a) Every person who performs or induces an abortion shall prior thereto have made a determination based on his experience, judgment or professional competence that the fetus is not viable, and if the determination is that the fetus is viable or if there is sufficient reason to believe that the fetus may be viable, shall exercise that degree of professional skill, care and diligence to preserve the life and health of the fetus which such person would be required to exercise in order to preserve the life and health of any fetus intended to be born and not aborted and the abortion technique employed shall be that which would provide the best opportunity for the fetus to be aborted alive so long as a different technique would not be necessary in order to preserve the life or health of the mother.

Doctors who failed to adhere to the provisions of this section were liable to civil and criminal prosecution "as would pertain to him had the fetus been a child who was intended to be born and not aborted." Franklin and others sued, arguing that the provision was both vague and overbroad. In a 6-3 decision written by Roe

Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...

author Harry Blackmun

Harry Blackmun

Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...

, the Supreme Court agreed, finding that requiring a determination "if... the fetus is viable or if there is sufficient reason to believe the fetus may be viable" was insufficient and impermissibly vague guidance for physicians who might face criminal liability if a jury disagrees with their judgment.

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 439
• Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth
  Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth
  Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52 was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the constitutionality of several Missouri state regulations regarding abortion was challenged...
  
  (1976), upholding a viability-related statute against allegations of vagueness.
• City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health
  City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health
  City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 462 U.S. 416 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court affirmed its abortion rights jurisprudence...
  
  (1983), struck down an abortion restriction on grounds of unconstitutional vagueness

External links

• Full text opinion from Justia.com