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16 Tex. J. Women & L. 205 (2006-2007)
The Meaning of Life: The Morning-After Pill, the Question of When Life Begins, and Judicial Review

handle is hein.journals/tjwl16 and id is 209 raw text is: Texas Journal of Women and the Law Volume 16 THE MEANING OF LIFE: THE MORNING-AFTER PILL, THE QUESTION OF WHEN LIFE BEGINS, AND JUDICIAL REVIEW Jason M. Horst* I. Introduction ............................................................................................ 206 II. State Application of Parental Consent Statutes to the Morning-after Pill Has the Potential to Force Courts Into Deciding When Life B eg in s ............................................................................................. 2 0 9 A. The Morning-after Pill Allows Women to Prevent Ovulation, Fertilization, or Implantation ................................ 209 B. Ovulation, Fertilization, Implantation and Beliefs About W hen H uman Life Begins ........................................................ 211 C. Some State Governments Have Begun to Consider the Morning-after Pill to be Abortion or Adopt Restrictions Sim ilar to Those on Abortion ................................................... 212 D. Courts Hearing Constitutional Challenges to Such Actions May Have to Decide Whether to Apply Abortion or Contraception Law, a Decision Implicating the Question of W hen Life B egins ..................................................................... 213 1. The Effect of When Life Begins on State Authority to Regulate Abortion and Contraception ............................... 214 2. The Morning-after Pill Potentially Could Be Constitutionally Limited to Minors if Considered Abortion but not if Considered Contraception ................... 215 III. Judges Should Decide Whether to Apply Abortion or Contraception Law to the Morning-after Pill in Light of Their Role as Representatives of the People ............................................ 218 A. State Government Authority to Impose Its Opinion as to W hen Life B egins ..................................................................... 220 1. State Authority over Constitutional Interpretation ............ 222 2. State Authority and Belief ................................................. 224 3. State Assertion of Public Health Concerns ........................ 225 * Associate, Folger Levin & Kahn LLP; Brandeis University (B.A. 2000); University of San Francisco (J.D. 2006, magna cum laude). Thanks to Joshua P. Davis, John M. Adler, and Melissa A. Brown for their assistance in reviewing previous drafts of this Article and to the staff of the Texas Journal of Women and the Law for all of their hard work in bringing the piece to publication.

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