Singleton, Chief, Bureau of Medical Services, Department of Health and Welfare of Missouri v. Wulff et al.

Decided July 1, 1976. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-1393 · 428 U.S. 106 (1976) · Cited 3,831 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.

• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Doe v. Bolton · 410 U.S. 179 (1973)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp · 397 U.S. 150 (1970)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Hormel v. Helvering · 312 U.S. 552 (1941)
• United States v. Richardson · 418 U.S. 166 (1974)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Shelley v. Kraemer · 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
• Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War · 418 U.S. 208 (1974)
• Brown v. United States · 411 U.S. 223 (1973)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Investment Company Institute v. Camp · 401 U.S. 617 (1971)
• Turner v. City of Memphis · 369 U.S. 350 (1962)

Cited by

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

• Kowalski v. Tesmer · 543 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• Miller v. Albright · 523 U.S. 420 (1998)
• Maher v. Roe · 432 U.S. 464 (1977)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States · 491 U.S. 617 (1989)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty · 445 U.S. 388 (1980)
• Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts · 472 U.S. 797 (1985)
• Diamond v. Charles · 476 U.S. 54 (1986)
• Colautti v. Franklin · 439 U.S. 379 (1979)
• Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald · 546 U.S. 470 (2006)
• Unitherm Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc. · 546 U.S. 394 (2006)
• Beal v. Doe · 432 U.S. 438 (1977)
• Stanley v. City of Sanford · 606 U.S. 46 (2025)
• Rakas v. Illinois · 439 U.S. 128 (1978)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• United States v. Grace · 461 U.S. 171 (1983)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Holland v. Illinois · 493 U.S. 474 (1990)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers v. Brock · 477 U.S. 274 (1986)
• Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western NY · 519 U.S. 357 (1997)

Official text

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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).