Famous US Supreme Court Decisions That Had Remarkable Impact on American Families

The United States' safe haven regulations garnered attention this month when the US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett emphasized their importance in the abortion issue.

Barrett made the remarks during a hearing earlier this month on a Mississippi bill that would prohibit most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, potentially upending abortion rights established by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide and upheld by the court's 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Barrett, who has a long history of opposing abortion, honed in on a major argument against pushing women into parenting, claiming that safe haven legislation would solve such concerns. "Why don't the safe haven laws deal with that issue?" " she asked, as per PBS.

The attorney testifying against the Mississippi statute, Julie Rikelman, refuted that premise, claiming that abortion rights are about forced pregnancy as well as forced motherhood. This is just one of the Supreme Court challenges that, depending on the outcome, might touch every American family.

The Supreme Court's abortion rulings have established, confirmed, and reaffirmed a woman's right to choose an abortion before viability in an uninterrupted sequence stretching back to Roe v. Wade, wrote Judge Patrick Higginbotham in the US. In 2014, the Court of Appeals heard a case. The Washington Post stated that states could limit abortion procedures prior to viability as long as they don't create an undue hardship on the woman's freedom to choose, but they can't ban abortions.

The case of Roe v. Wade isn't the only one that has an influence on families. Live Science investigates landmark family-related decisions, including marriage, contraception, mental illness among family members, police searches without a warrant, and right-to-die cases. Through Live Science, here's a look at some of the Supreme Court decisions that have impacted American families.

1. 1972 - Wisconsin v. Yoder

In the 1972 case Wisconsin v. Yoder, religious liberty and the need for education were pitted against one other. Minors in Wisconsin were compelled by state law to attend school until they reached the age of sixteen. Adin Yutzy, Jonas Yoder, and Wallace Miller, all Amish, took their children out of school when they were 14 and 16.

Other states with considerable Amish populations, such as Pennsylvania, agreed with the Amish by establishing part-time vocational schools staffed by Amish teachers. On the other hand, Wisconsin punished the family and fined them each $5. The families contended that the conviction violated their First and 14th amendment rights, and the Supreme Court agreed.

2. 1973 - Roe v. Wade

Jane Roe is a fictitious name for a lady who filed a class-action lawsuit against Henry Wade, a Texas district attorney, in 1970. At the time, Roe was pregnant, unmarried, and had been denied an abortion.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that a woman's right to privacy, as indicated by the Bill of Rights, entitled her to seek an abortion without governmental intervention legally. However, the Supreme Court granted states the power to regulate abortion after the first trimester and the right to limit abortions in some situations after viability, which is usually defined as 20 to 23 weeks into a pregnancy.

States are still enacting new abortion legislation forty years later. In 2012, the Guttmacher Institute documented 43 new state abortion restrictions. In 2011, there were almost 90 new provisions.

3. 1975 O'Conner v. Donaldson

Kenneth Donaldson was sent to a Florida State mental institution in 1957 at his father's request, claiming he was suffering from delusions. Donaldson was held in the hospital against his will for over 15 years, despite proof that he wasn't aggressive and could live independently.

The Supreme Court determined that the hospital had violated Donaldson's 14th Amendment rights. The verdict averted the nightmare situation of a relatively sane individual being locked up in a mental institution indefinitely. However, some mental health activists claim that some interpretations of the case have made it impossible for families to assist their loved ones.

4. 1990 - Cruzan v. Director of the Missouri Department of Health

Nancy Cruzan's case was a forerunner in the right-to-die debates. Cruzan was 25 years old when she was involved in an automobile accident that left her in a vegetative condition. Her parents battled to have the feeding tube that kept her alive removed, but Missouri courts refused.

The Supreme Court decided in favor of the state's power to require proof of an incapacitated person's intentions before disconnecting life support in a 5-4 ruling. The Cruzans acquired the right to remove the feeding tube six months later, notwithstanding the verdict. Nancy Cruzan died eight years after the vehicle accident, at the age of 33.

5. 2006 - Georgia v. Randolph

Police must obtain permission from a person before searching a residence without a warrant, according to the Fourth Amendment. However, in 2005, the Supreme Court was confronted with a situation in which one family member said yes, and the other said no.

Janet Randolph reported her estranged husband, Scott Randolph, to the police, alleging that he had abducted their kid. Janet Randolph accused her husband of taking cocaine when police came, and she gave police permission to search their house. Scott Randolph, on the other hand, was fiercely opposed.

Do these rulings help Americans?

Since the court's creation in 1789, some major Supreme Court rulings have single-handedly transformed the legal business and the lives of Americans. Many Supreme Court rulings have influenced women's rights, race relations, freedom of expression, and other issues.

The court has been criticized for decisions that exacerbated social divisions and harmed impoverished or minority groups. Several noteworthy Supreme Court decisions have lasted the test of time and continue to influence Americans' rights today, regardless of the conclusion.