This is not an undue burden.ĮXAMPLE: State Y enacts a regulation requiring spousal notification prior to an abortion. Once the fetus is viable, however, states may prohibit abortion except when required for the woman’s health or safety.ĮXAMPLE: State X passes a law which limits the right to pre-viability abortions by requiring they be performed by a doctor. Both interests are compelling, and this has led to the “no undue burdens” standard for restricting abortions before the fetus is viable (i.e., has a realistic chance of surviving outside the womb). There are two, conflicting state interests here: protecting the mother and protecting the fetus. 833 (1992), which held that states may restrict the availability of abortions so long as they do not place an “undue burden” on the woman’s right to choose. The right to have an abortion is not a fundamental right following the Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Even if the group classification is neither suspect nor quasi-suspect, if their fundamental rights are being burdened while the same rights are not being similarly burdened for other groups, we have an Equal Protection issue. Furthermore, in Equal Protection cases involving fundamental rights, it is important not to get distracted by focusing on the group whose rights are affected. ![]() ![]() Generally, however, the list of fundamental rights for Equal Protection Clause purposes is the same as for Due Process Clause purposes. We must take care not to confuse these with laws that deny fundamental rights to all groups and are therefore subject to substantive Due Process analysis (see Chapter 3). In addition to laws that use racial or national origin classifications, laws that deny fundamental rights to some groups and not to others are also subject to strict scrutiny review. One of the territorial areas into which a state, county, or municipality may be divided for judicial, political, electoral, or administrative purposes. Further Readingįor more on equal protection, see this Harvard Law Review article, this University of Pennsylvania Law Review article, and this Columbia University Law Review article.If two groups of people each elect a single representative, but Group A is twice as large as Group B, the votes of individuals in Group A are effectively diluted, or made less important, as compared with the votes of those in Group B. It is important to note that courts have combined elements of two of the three tests to create an ad hoc test. The court will determine which scrutiny the individual will be subject to, relying on legal precedent to determine which level of scrutiny to use. ![]() The individual will need to prove that the governing body's action resulted in actual harm to them. After proving this, the court will typically scrutinize the governmental action in one of several three ways to determine whether the governmental body's action is permissible: these three methods are referred to as strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and rational basis scrutiny. When an individual believes that either the federal government or a state government has violated their guaranteed equal rights, that individual is able to bring a lawsuit against that governmental body for relief.īased on the type of discrimination alleged, the individual will first need to prove that the governing body actually discriminated against the individual. The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause requires the United States government to practice equal protection. The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause requires states to practice equal protection.Įqual protection forces a state to govern impartially-not draw distinctions between individuals solely on differences that are irrelevant to a legitimate governmental objective. Thus, the equal protection clause is crucial to the protection of civil rights. It is important to acknowledge that a government is allowed to discriminate against individuals, as long as the discrimination satisfies the equal protection analysis outlined below, and described in full detail in this Santa Clara Law Review article. Equal Protection refers to the idea that a governmental body may not deny people equal protection of its governing laws. The governing body state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circumstances.
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