Sandra Day O'Connor

“ The time when viability is achieved may vary with each pregnancy, and the determination of whether a particular fetus is viable is, and must [p527] be, a matter for the judgment of the responsible attending physician.
The 20-week presumption of viability in the first sentence of § 188.029, it could be argued (though, I would think, unsuccessfully) , restricts "the judgment of the responsible attending physician," by imposing on that physician the burden of overcoming the presumption. ”

“ No decision of this Court has held that the State may not directly promote its interest in potential life when viability is possible. Quite the contrary. In Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986) , the Court considered a constitutional challenge to a Pennsylvania statute requiring that a second physician be present during an abortion performed "when viability is possible." ”

“ Akron, supra, at 453 (dissenting opinion) (internal quotations omitted) .
It is clear to me that requiring the performance of examinations and tests useful to determining whether a fetus is viable, when viability is possible, and when it would not be medically imprudent to do so, does not impose an undue burden on a woman's abortion decision. ”

“ I concur in Parts I, II-A, II-B, and II-C of the Court's opinion.
I Nothing in the record before us or the opinions below indicates that subsections 1 (1) and 1 (2) of the preamble to Missouri's abortion regulation statute will affect a woman's decision to have an abortion. JUSTICE STEVENS, following appellees, see Brief for Appellees 22, suggests that the preamble may also "interfer [e] with contraceptive choices," post at 492 U.S. 564"] 564, because certain contraceptive devices act on a female ovum after it has been fertilized by a male sperm. ”

“ At twenty weeks gestation, an ultrasound examination to determine gestational age is standard medical practice. It is routinely provided by the plaintiff clinics. An ultrasound examination can effectively provide all three designated findings of sec. ”