Rust v. Sullivan
Identification U.S. Supreme Court decision
Date Decided on May 23, 1991
The Supreme Court upheld a federal regulation that prohib-
ited any abortion counseling at family-planning clinics re-
ceiving federal funds.
In 1970, Congress passed a statute, Title X of the
Public Health Service Act, providing federal funds
to support family-planning services. The statute lim-
ited application of the resources, however, stating
that no appropriated funds could be used in pro-
grams in which abortion was a method of family
planning. In 1988, the Reagan administration insti-
tuted a gag rule under which clinics receiving fed-
eral funds could not counsel pregnant women about
the availability of abortions, and employees could
not refer pregnant women to clinics that performed
abortions.
InRust v. Sullivan, the gag rule was challenged
by family-planning services, which argued that
Congress did not authorize the regulation and that
it violated their free speech rights and their clients’
rights outlined in the Supreme Court decision of
Roe v. Wade(1973). The Court held, by a margin of
5-4, that the regulation was a permissible interpre-
tation of the statute. It also held that clinic doctors
were not forced to forgo their free speech rights,
finding that the relationship between a doctor in a
family-planning clinic and the clinic’s patients was
narrow and noting that doctors could advise women
about abortions outside the federally funded pro-
gram.
The Court also reasoned that the rules did not
overly burden a woman’s right to choose an abor-
tion. While it acknowledged that abortions would be
easier for women to obtain if they could receive ade-
quate information from family-planning services,
the Court added that the right to choose did not re-
quire the government to “distort the scope of its
mandated program” of providing family-planning
services.
The majority for the decision was led by Chief Jus-
tice William H. Rehnquist, joined by Justices Byron
White, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and David
Souter. Dissents were filed by Justices Harry A.
Blackmun, Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens,
and Sandra Day O’Connor.
Impact TheRustdecision was important as an indi-
cator of the Court’s shifting views on abortion and
suggested a Court that was willing to erodeRoe v.
Wade.Further Reading
Cook, Elizabeth Adell, Ted G. Jelen, and Clyde
Wilcox.Between Two Absolutes: Public Opinion and
the Politics of Abortion.Boulder, Colo.: Westview
Press, 1992.
Cushman, Clare, ed.Supreme Court Decisions and
Women’s Rights: Milestones to Equality.Washington,
D.C.: CQ Press, 2001.
Sanger, Alexander.Beyond Choice: Reproductive Free-
dom in the Twenty-first Centur y.New York: Public-
Affairs, 2004.
Marcia J. WeissSee also Abortion;Planned Parenthood v. Casey;Su-
preme Court decisions; Women’s rights. Ryan, Meg
Identification American actor
Born November 19, 1961; Fairfield, Connecticut
Ryan’s comedic sense, perky behavior, and wholesome
good looks made her an icon for romantic comedy in the
1990’s.
Born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, Meg Ryan
grew up in Bethel, Connecticut. After high school,
she acted in some commercials and played a major
role in the soap operaAs the World Turns. Her big
break as an actress came in 1989 inWhen Harr y Met
Sally. Ryan, who by that time had adopted her
mother’s maiden name, captured the audience’s
open-mouthed attention with her version of faking
an orgasm. Her success led to her first film with Tom
Hanks,Joe Versus the Volcano(1990). In the film, Ryan
demonstrated her acting skills by playing three
widely different characters. Although the film was
not a popular success, the Ryan-Hanks connection
appealed to the audience and led to other films. Her
next film with Hanks was the huge box-office success
Sleepless in Seattle(1993), with Ryan playing a smart
Baltimore reporter who falls in love with a man after
hearing him talk about his dead wife on a call-in ra-
dio show. Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron
described Ryan as someone whom both male and fe-The Nineties in America Ryan, Meg 737