United States v. Vuitch
![]() | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2013) |
United States v. Vuitch | |
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![]() Supreme Court of the United States | |
Argued January 12, 1971 Decided April 21, 1971 | |
Full case name | United States v. Vuitch |
Citations | 402 U.S. 62 (more) 91 S. Ct. 1294; 28 L. Ed. 2d 601; 1971 U.S. LEXIS 50 |
Case history | |
Prior | 305 F. Supp. 1032 (D.D.C. 1969) |
Holding | |
The abortion statute of the District of Columbia, banning abortion except when necessary for the health or life of the woman, is not unconstitutionally vague. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Black, joined by Burger, White (in full); Douglas, Stewart (Part I (jurisdiction)); Harlan, Blackmun (Part II (merits)) |
Concurrence | White |
Dissent | Douglas (as to merits) |
Dissent | Harlan, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun (as to jurisdiction) |
Dissent | Stewart (as to merits) |
Dissent | Blackmun (as to jurisdiction) |
United States v. Vuitch, 402 U.S. 62 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court abortion rights case, which held that the District of Columbia's abortion law banning the practice except when necessary for the health or life of the woman was not unconstitutionally vague.[1]
Background[]
Milan Vuitch, an abortion provider in the District of Columbia, had several times come under suit for providing abortion services that the government deemed not necessary for the life or health of the woman, in accordance with the DC law. Vuitch challenged the law as being unconstitutionally vague with regard to the term "health." Federal District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell agreed, dismissing Vuitch's indictment and ruling that the law failed to give the sufficient certainty required by due process of law in criminal matters.[2][3]
Gesell's finding was the first federal court decision declaring an abortion law unconstitutional.[3]
Decision[]
There were two questions before the court: firstly, whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to decide the case, and secondly, whether the D.C. law was unconstitutionally vague. On the first question, Justice Black, joined by Burger, Douglas, Stewart, and Byron White, held that they could. On the second question, Harlan and Blackmun, although dissenting in jurisdiction, joined Black on the merits, while Douglas and Stewart joined Brennan and Marshall in dissent.[1]
On the merits, Black held that "health" was not vague, since lower courts had construed it fairly concretely to mean physical as well as psychological health. Although this was the final (as well as the first) abortion case prior to Roe, only Justice Douglas, writing in dissent, suggested the existence of a general right to abortion as part of a broader right to privacy. This view would be embraced by seven justices in Roe two years later.
Significance[]
Vuitch lost in the sense that the statute was ruled not "vague"; the district court's decision was overturned and Vuitch could be prosecuted.[4] However, the decision treated abortion as a surgical option not fundamentally different from any other, and the Court seemed to care most about sufficient leeway being given to a doctor's professional judgement.[5]
The justices voted to hear Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, other abortion cases, the day after Vuitch's opinion was announced.[5]
See also[]
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 402
- Roe v. Wade (1973), decided just two terms after Vuitch
References[]
- ^ a b United States v. Vuitch, 402 U.S. 62 (1971).
- ^ United States v. Vuitch, 305 F. Supp. 1032 (D.D.C. 1969).
- ^ a b Greenhouse, Linda. Becoming Justice Blackmun. Times Books. 2005. Page 75.
- ^ Greenhouse, Linda. Becoming Justice Blackmun. Times Books. 2005. Page 77.
- ^ a b Greenhouse, Linda. Becoming Justice Blackmun. Times Books. 2005. Page 78.
External links[]
- Text of United States v. Vuitch, 402 U.S. 62 (1971) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)
- 1971 in United States case law
- Right to abortion under the United States Constitution
- Right to privacy under the United States Constitution
- United States abortion case law
- United States privacy case law
- United States Supreme Court cases
- United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
- Women in Washington, D.C.