Carey, Governor of New York, et al. v. Population Services International et al.

Decided June 9, 1977. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-443 · 431 U.S. 678 (1977) · Cited 1,185 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 7–2.

“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.

• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth · 428 U.S. 52 (1976)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Ginsberg v. New York · 390 U.S. 629 (1968)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Prince v. Massachusetts · 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
• Doe v. Bolton · 410 U.S. 179 (1973)
• Poe v. Ullman · 367 U.S. 497 (1961)
• Bigelow v. Virginia · 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
• Bellotti v. Baird · 428 U.S. 132 (1976)
• In Re GAULT · 387 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Whalen v. Roe · 429 U.S. 589 (1977)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations · 413 U.S. 376 (1973)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Morrissey v. Brewer · 408 U.S. 471 (1972)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Skinner v. Oklahoma Ex Rel. Williamson · 316 U.S. 535 (1942)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)

Cited by

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

• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Bowers v. Hardwick · 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County · 450 U.S. 464 (1981)
• City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc. · 462 U.S. 416 (1983)
• H. L. v. Matheson · 450 U.S. 398 (1981)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Maher v. Roe · 432 U.S. 464 (1977)
• Posadas De Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico · 478 U.S. 328 (1986)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Hodgson v. Minnesota · 497 U.S. 417 (1990)
• Washington v. Glucksberg · 521 U.S. 702 (1997)
• Zablocki v. Redhail · 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
• Kowalski v. Tesmer · 543 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health · 497 U.S. 261 (1990)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Florida Bar v. Went for It, Inc. · 515 U.S. 618 (1995)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition · 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Bellotti v. Baird · 443 U.S. 622 (1979)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)

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).