Connecticut v. Menillo
Headline: Court limits reach of Roe, allowing states to enforce criminal abortion laws against nonphysicians and vacating Connecticut’s broad invalidation while returning the case for reconsideration.
Holding:
- Allows states to prosecute nonphysicians who perform abortions under criminal laws.
- Holds that first‑trimester abortions by nonphysicians lack the federal privacy protection Roe provided for clinical abortions.
- Sends cases back to state courts to re-evaluate convictions under state law.
Summary
Background
In 1971 Patrick Menillo, who is not a physician and has no medical training, was convicted in Connecticut for attempting to procure an abortion under a state criminal law that made abortion by “any person” a crime. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned his conviction, saying earlier Supreme Court decisions (Roe and Doe) made the Connecticut law “null and void.” The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review that ruling.
Reasoning
The central question was whether the earlier Roe decision required states to strike down criminal abortion laws even when they are enforced against nonphysicians. The Court explained that Roe guaranteed a woman the right to a clinical abortion performed by licensed, medically competent personnel, and that Roe’s language about statutes “falling as a unit” did not address nonphysician abortion providers. The Court said prosecutions of nonphysicians do not invade the constitutional privacy right described in Roe, especially because the safety justification depends on competent medical care.
Real world impact
As a result, the Court vacated the Connecticut high court’s broad ruling and said the Connecticut statute remains effective under the Federal Constitution against nonphysicians. The case was sent back to the Connecticut court to reconsider the conviction in light of this opinion. The Court explicitly declined to decide how Connecticut law itself should treat the matter under state law.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice White joined only in the result, concurring with the Court’s disposition without a separate published opinion.
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