The Supreme Court declared that the First Amendment protects commercial advertising to “some degree” and overturned a state statute prohibiting advertisements of abortion services.
In 1971 the Virginia Weekly of Charlottesville published an advertisement for an organization that helped women obtain legal abortions in the state of New York. The newspaper’s editor, Jeffrey Bigelow, was convicted for violating a state statute that made it a misdemeanor to encourage or help a woman to have an abortion. Bigelow argued that the statute infringed on his free press rights under the First Amendment. In response, the state referred to Valentine v. Chrestensen
By a 7-2 vote, the Court overturned the statute and greatly limited the Valentine ruling. Justice Harry A. Blackmun’s
Subsequent to Bigelow, the Court issued a series of decisions, such as Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
Abortion
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
Commercial speech
Speech and press, freedom of
Time, place, and manner regulations