{"schema":"abhortion.org/case.v1/v1","id":"doe-v-bolton-1973","type":"case","case_name_short":"Doe v. Bolton","case_name_full":"Doe et al. v. Bolton, Attorney General of Georgia, et al.","citation":"410 U.S. 179 (1973)","docket_number":"70-40","status":"Overruled by Dobbs","court":"U.S. Supreme Court","date_argued":"1971-12-13","date_decided":"1973-01-22","vote":"7-2","question_presented":"Whether Georgia's Model Penal Code-style abortion statute (permitting abortion only in cases of danger to woman's life or health, fetal defect, or rape) — with procedural requirements including hospital accreditation, committee approval, and two concurring physicians — is constitutional.","holding":"Georgia's procedural requirements are unconstitutional. The 'health' exception recognized by the statute must be construed broadly to include 'all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age.'","reasoning_summary":"Justice Blackmun struck down Georgia's procedural restrictions as unduly burdening the constitutional right recognized in Roe. Critically, the opinion defined 'health' expansively — a definition that became the operational engine of Roe's regime.","practical_effect":"Combined with Roe, Doe's 'health' definition meant that no abortion could be effectively prohibited at any stage if a willing physician would attest to any of the listed factors. Pro-life advocates have described the result as 'abortion on demand through all nine months.'","opinions":[{"role":"majority","author":"Blackmun, J.","joined_by":"Burger, C.J.; Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell, JJ.","summary":"Georgia's procedural requirements are unconstitutional. The 'health' exception recognized by the statute must be construed broadly to include 'all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age.'"},{"role":"concurrence","author":"Burger, C.J.","summary":"Joined majority but emphasized narrow scope."},{"role":"concurrence","author":"Douglas, J.","summary":"Elaborated on the right to privacy."},{"role":"dissent","author":"White, J.","joined_by":"Rehnquist, J.","summary":"Same dissent as in Roe: called the Court's rulings 'an exercise of raw judicial power.'"},{"role":"dissent","author":"Rehnquist, J.","summary":"Historical dissent noting states' authority to regulate."}],"key_quotes":[{"quote":"The medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age — relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.","speaker":"Blackmun, J. (majority)","location":"410 U.S. at 192"}],"perspectives":{"abolitionist":"Abolitionists cite Doe as showing that Roe's 'health' exception was designed to permit abortion on demand. The 'psychological/familial' health rationale is criticized as unlimited.","mainstream_prolife":"Mainstream pro-life groups have long argued that Doe's expansive 'health' definition, combined with Roe, effectively legalized abortion throughout pregnancy. This framing is now central to the movement's history.","prochoice":"Advocates view Doe as necessary companion to Roe, ensuring that women's health could not be sacrificed to fetal life."},"significance":{"overall":7,"legal_precedential_weight":8,"practical_impact_on_access":9,"movement_relevance_abolitionist":7,"enduring_relevance_2026":4,"rationale":"Companion case to Roe. Overruled by Dobbs but historically foundational to understanding Roe-era abortion access."},"sources":{"primary":[{"name":"supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/179","href":"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/179/"}],"secondary":[{"name":"itgoestoofar.com/doe-v-bolton","href":"https://www.itgoestoofar.com/doe-v-bolton"}]},"related_cases":{"cites_earlier":["Roe v. Wade (1973)","Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)"],"cited_by_later":["Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)","Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022)"]},"notes":"Sandra Cano, the 'Mary Doe' plaintiff, later became a pro-life activist and repeatedly sought (unsuccessfully) to overturn the ruling in her own name.","links":{"html":"https://www.abhortion.org/cases/doe-v-bolton-1973.html","markdown":"https://www.abhortion.org/cases/doe-v-bolton-1973.md","json":"https://www.abhortion.org/cases/doe-v-bolton-1973.json"}}