# Bellotti v. Baird

> Supreme Court of the United States · October 1, 1979 · 443 U.S. 622

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9427705

## Case

- **Full name:** BELLOTTI, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS, Et Al. v. BAIRD Et Al.
- **Court:** Supreme Court of the United States
- **Decided:** October 1, 1979
- **Citations:** 443 U.S. 622; 99 S. Ct. 3035; 61 L. Ed. 2d 797; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 17
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Rehnquist
- **Judges:** Burger, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens, White
- **Cited by:** 651 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- **Yellow flag:** Disagreed with by Planned Parenthood Of Southern Arizona v. Barbara Lawall, 307 F.3d 783 (2002).
- Negative treatments: 1
- Distinguished by: 0
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9427705

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating that "parental notice and consent are qualifications that typically may be imposed by the State on a minor's right to make important decisions. As immature minors often lack the ability to make fully informed choices that take account of both immediate and long-range c…
- holding that children have special needs in respect to constitutionally protected rights including their “peculiar vulnerability,” “inability to make critical decisions in an informed, mature manner,” as well as “the importance of the parental role in child rearing”
- holding that judicial bypass process for , minors “must assure that a resolution of the issue, and any appeals that may follow, will be completed with anonymity and sufficient expedition to. provide an effective opportunity for an abortion to be obtained”
- recognizing that the state may place some restrictions on a minor’s right to seek an abortion

## Opinion text

Mr. Justice Rehnquist,
concurring.
I join the opinion of Mr. Justice Powell and the judgment of the Court. At such time as this Court is willing to *652 reconsider its earlier decision in Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth, 428 U. S. 52 (1976), in which I joined the opinion of Mr. Justice White, dissenting in part, I shall be more than willing to participate in that task. But unless and until that time comes, literally thousands of judges cannot be left with nothing more than the guidance offered by a truly fragmented holding of this Court.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9427705. Public record. Not legal advice.