Richard M. Ragsdale v. Bernard J. Turnock, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health

A decade and one-half ago the Supreme Court announced “that the right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision, but that this right is not unqualified and must be considered against important state interests in regulation.” Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 154, 93 S.Ct. 705, 727, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973). Today, under the guise of protecting the woman’s constitutional privacy rights, the majority holds that the State of Illinois’ health services statutory scheme, enacted in an attempt to regulate the ever-escalating costs of medical care without sacrificing its citizens’ health and safety,…