What is the difference between a woman's right to an abortion and the right to postpone it?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren, 16 Cal.4th 307, 66 Cal.Rptr.2d 210, 940 P.2d 797 (Cal. 1997):

The abortion decision is different not only because [ ] a pregnancy decision fundamentally affects the subsequent course of a woman's life, but also because, unlike a decision concerning marriage or sterilization [ ], the abortion decision is highly time sensitive. Although marriage and sterilization can be postponed to adulthood, the option of abortion "effectively expires in a matter of weeks from the onset of pregnancy." (Bellotti v. Baird, supra, 443 U.S. 622, 642, 99 S.Ct. 3035, 3047, 61 L.Ed.2d 797.) "[T]he abortion decision is one that simply cannot be postponed, or it will be made by default with far-reaching consequences." (Id. at p. 643, 99 S.Ct. at p. 3048.)

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