Colautti, Secretary of Welfare of Pennsylvania, et al. v. Franklin et al.

Decided January 9, 1979. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-891 · 439 U.S. 379 (1979) · Cited 971 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 6–3.

“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.

• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth · 428 U.S. 52 (1976)
• Doe v. Bolton · 410 U.S. 179 (1973)
• Screws v. United States · 325 U.S. 91 (1945)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville · 405 U.S. 156 (1972)
• Maher v. Roe · 432 U.S. 464 (1977)
• United States v. Vuitch · 402 U.S. 62 (1971)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• United States v. Harriss · 347 U.S. 612 (1954)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Smith v. Goguen · 415 U.S. 566 (1974)
• United States v. United States Gypsum Co. · 438 U.S. 422 (1978)
• United States v. Menasche · 348 U.S. 528 (1955)
• United States v. New York Telephone Co. · 434 U.S. 159 (1977)
• Boyce Motor Lines, Inc. v. United States · 342 U.S. 337 (1952)
• Bellotti v. Baird · 428 U.S. 132 (1976)
• Beal v. Doe · 432 U.S. 438 (1977)
• United States v. Ragen · 314 U.S. 513 (1942)

Cited by

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

• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc. · 462 U.S. 416 (1983)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Johnson v. United States · 576 U.S. 591 (2015)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Planned Parenthood Assn. of Kansas City, Mo., Inc. v. Ashcroft · 462 U.S. 476 (1983)
• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• City of Chicago v. Morales · 527 U.S. 41 (1999)
• Regan v. Time, Inc. · 468 U.S. 641 (1984)
• Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. · 455 U.S. 489 (1982)
• Kolender v. Lawson · 461 U.S. 352 (1983)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Kungys v. United States · 485 U.S. 759 (1988)
• Kosak v. United States · 465 U.S. 848 (1984)
• Meese v. Keene · 481 U.S. 465 (1987)
• Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health · 497 U.S. 502 (1990)
• Burgess v. United States · 553 U.S. 124 (2008)
• United States Department of Energy v. Ohio · 503 U.S. 607 (1992)
• Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana · 472 U.S. 237 (1985)
• Sullivan v. Everhart · 494 U.S. 83 (1990)
• Toll v. Moreno · 458 U.S. 1 (1982)
• South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. · 476 U.S. 498 (1986)

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).