Bowen, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Kendrick et al.

Decided June 27, 1988. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-253 · 487 U.S. 589 (1988) · Cited 491 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Aguilar v. Felton · 473 U.S. 402 (1985)
• Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
• Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Regan · 444 U.S. 646 (1980)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Milliken v. Bradley · 433 U.S. 267 (1977)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)
• Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. · 472 U.S. 703 (1985)
• Levitt v. Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty · 413 U.S. 472 (1973)
• United States v. Salerno · 481 U.S. 739 (1987)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education · 402 U.S. 1 (1971)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. · 551 U.S. 587 (2007)
• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe · 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District · 509 U.S. 1 (1993)
• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. · 545 U.S. 844 (2005)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California · 493 U.S. 378 (1990)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).