The undue burden test established by Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992), was overruled and made moot by Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in 2022.
Establishment of the Undue Burden Test under Casey
The undue burden standard was established in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), where the Supreme Court upheld Roe v. Wade (1973) but rejected the trimester framework because the Court determined that the trimester framework misconceived the nature of the pregnant person’s interest and undervalued the state’s interest in potential life.
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act required a person seeking an abortion to:
- Give informed consent and be provided with information 24 hours in advance;
- Minors needed the informed consent of a parent; and
- “a wife seeking an abortion must inform her husband of her plans prior to the procedure.”
The first two prongs were upheld because the Supreme Court did not consider them unduly burdensome. However, the third prong was struck down because there were domestic abuse concerns, giving rise to an undue burden.
An undue burden referred to state statutes with the purpose or effect of restricting abortions, which then placed a substantial obstacle on a someone seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus. If the person seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus could prove that they would endure an undue burden as a result of a state restriction on abortion, then the statute imposing an undue burden would be struck down either entirely or partially. On the other hand, the government could pursue its interest in protecting the health of the pregnant person through statutory restrictions, as long as the government’s interest had a rational relation and did not impose an undue burden.
Overruling of the Undue Burden Test under Dobbs
In 2022 the Supreme Court majority in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization held that “undue burden,” was unworkable because the term was ambiguous, causing courts to struggle to apply the test consistently. The Court in Dobbs decided that “undue burden” is standardless in application, thus eliminating the framework while overruling Casey and Roe v Wade.
[Last updated in July of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]