Supreme Court upholds Missouri abortion restrictions 5-4 in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, opening door for state-level restrictions

On July 3, 1989, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services to uphold a Missouri law that banned use of public facilities or employees for abortions, required viability testing at 20 weeks, and declared in its preamble that life begins at conception. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote for the plurality, declining to strike down the law while stopping short of overruling Roe v. Wade. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote separately urging the Court to overturn Roe entirely. The decision was the first to substantially narrow abortion access since Roe and immediately triggered a surge in state-level restriction legislation; 31 states introduced 306 abortion restriction bills in the six months following the ruling.