Case Study: Webster Vs. Reproductive Health Services

Webster V. Reproductive Health Services was a court case where there was a debate about whether or not public hospitals and employees were to assist in abortions or abortion counseling unless it’s necessary to save a woman's life. This Supreme court case was a turning point for the debate on abortion. This case was set on precedent from Roe V. Wade, which was supreme court case which gave women the right to have an abortion. Webster V. Reproductive Health Services’s nine justices were Rehnquist, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia, and Kennedy; and the majority opinion was provided by Rehnquist. The constitutional question the justices debated was does this law infringe on a women's right to abort under the equal protection clause and does infringe on women’s privacy? The judges who agreed this Missouri law was legal and reversed the decision about the original law were Rehnquist, White, O’Connor, Scalia, and Kennedy. The original court decision was that this law was unconstitutional as set by precedent of Roe V. Wade. But the U.S. Supreme Court sided with that it was constitutional is a 5-4 decision. …show more content…
Since this is such a controversial topic the public's opinion on this way very split and there was pushback from those who agreed with the original court's decision, this has not changed since the ruling. The court's decision was implemented by some states by them creating laws similar to the Missouri law. Other states however kept abortion options open the public hospitals whether or not the mother’s life is in danger. Overall, the public's decision, the court's decision and how it was implemented was split almost in

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Case Study: Webster Vs. Reproductive Health Services

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