Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

The respondents were an obstetrician/gynecologist and three reproductive health service clinics. They challenged a New Hampshire  law that required minors to get parental consent before procuring an abortion on the grounds that the law did not provide an emergency health exception despite subjecting minors to significant health risks. The law only outlined an exception for the purpose of saving a minor’s life. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings to determine whether the New Hampshire legislature would have wanted the law to include a medical emergency exception. The Court further instructed that the lower court should refrain from striking down the law in its entirety if only some sections of the law are unconstitutional. The Court stated that the law could not prevent minors from obtaining an abortion due to a medical emergency.

Topics

• Abortion and reproductive health rights
• Gender discrimination

Geographical location

• North America
• United States

Keywords

• Children's rights
• constitutional rights
• right to life
• state duty

Year

• 2006

External URL

• Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Court

• Supreme Court of the United States

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• United States