Beal v. Doe

432 U.S. 438 · Decided June 20, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Beal v. Doe was decided on June 20, 1977 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Abortion and contraceptives” in the Privacy area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Beal, Secretary, Department of Public Welfare of Pennsylvania, et al. v. Doe et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1976-154, docket 1976-154-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Abortion and contraceptives”

• Maher v. Roe
  432 U.S. 464Decided June 20, 19776–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Poelker v. Doe
  432 U.S. 519Decided June 20, 19776–3Per curiam
• Carey v. Population Services InternationalLaw held unconstitutional
  431 U.S. 678Decided June 9, 19777–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• Guste v. Jackson
  429 U.S. 399Decided January 17, 19779–0Per curiam
• Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. DanforthLaw held unconstitutional
  428 U.S. 52Decided July 1, 19765–4Harry A. Blackmun
• Colautti v. FranklinLaw held unconstitutional
  439 U.S. 379Decided January 9, 19796–3Harry A. Blackmun

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Cases on the same legal provision: Medicaid (Social Security Act)

• Beltran v. Myers
  451 U.S. 625Decided May 18, 19819–0Per curiam
• Schweiker v. Gray Panthers
  453 U.S. 34Decided June 25, 19816–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Herweg et Vir v. Ray
  455 U.S. 265Decided February 23, 19828–1William H. Rehnquist
• Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance v. Heckler
  471 U.S. 524Decided May 20, 19859–0John Paul Stevens
• Atkins v. Rivera
  477 U.S. 154Decided June 23, 19869–0Harry A. Blackmun
• L. Douglas Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Association
  496 U.S. 498Decided June 14, 19905–4William J. Brennan Jr.

Same Term, same area (Privacy)

• Guste v. Jackson
  429 U.S. 399Decided January 17, 19779–0Per curiam
• Whalen v. Roe
  429 U.S. 589Decided February 22, 19779–0John Paul Stevens
• Carey v. Population Services InternationalLaw held unconstitutional
  431 U.S. 678Decided June 9, 19777–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• Maher v. Roe
  432 U.S. 464Decided June 20, 19776–3Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Poelker v. Doe
  432 U.S. 519Decided June 20, 19776–3Per curiam

See all

Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error