Kelly a. Ayotte, Attorney General of New Hampshire v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al.

Decided January 18, 2006. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 04-1144 · 546 U.S. 320 (2006) · Cited 423 times

Holding

If enforcing a statute that regulates access to abortion would be unconstitutional in medical emergencies, invalidating the statute entirely is not always necessary or justified, for lower courts may be able to render narrower declaratory and injunctive relief.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“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.

• Hodgson v. Minnesota · 497 U.S. 417 (1990)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• United States v. Grace · 461 U.S. 171 (1983)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• United States v. REESE · 92 U.S. 214 (1876)
• Tennessee v. Garner · 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth · 428 U.S. 52 (1976)
• Virginia v. American Booksellers Assn., Inc. · 484 U.S. 383 (1988)
• Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc. · 472 U.S. 491 (1985)
• Champlin Rfg. Co. v. Corporation Commission of Oklahoma · 286 U.S. 210 (1932)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Regan v. Time, Inc. · 468 U.S. 641 (1984)
• Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Brock · 480 U.S. 678 (1987)
• United States v. Steffens · 100 U.S. 82 (1879)
• Dahnke-Walker Milling Co. v. Bondurant · 257 U.S. 282 (1921)
• Dorchy v. Kansas · 264 U.S. 286 (1924)
• The Employers'liability Cases · 207 U.S. 463 (1908)
• Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health · 497 U.S. 502 (1990)
• Califano v. Westcott · 443 U.S. 76 (1979)
• Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians · 526 U.S. 172 (1999)
• Planned Parenthood Assn. of Kansas City, Mo., Inc. v. Ashcroft · 462 U.S. 476 (1983)
• Allen v. Louisiana · 103 U.S. 80 (1881)

Cited by

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

• Gonzales v. Carhart · 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party · 552 U.S. 442 (2008)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc. · 591 U.S. 610 (2020)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).