In a wide-ranging decision in 1992 on a Pennsylvania law, the Court reiterated its general support for a woman's right to an abortion but upheld most provisions of the statute, including requirements for “informed consent,” a mandatory waiting period, and the consent of at least one parent or a judge for anyone age 16 or younger. In 1991 the Court had upheld a Reagan administration executive order banning abortion counseling at federally funded clinics. Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Bill Clinton reversed this ban in January 1993.
During the 1970s and 1980s legislative action was often effective in cutting off public funds for abortions. In 1977 the Supreme Court ruled that neither the Social Security Act nor the Constitution prevented a state from restricting the use of Medicaid funds for “medically necessary” abortions. In a companion case, the Court held that a city may refuse to allow elective abortions to be performed in a municipal hospital. Subsequently, a congressional limitation of Medicaid eligibility for elective abortions (the Hyde Amendment) was upheld. In 1989 the Court upheld a Missouri statute barring all public employees and taxpayer-supported facilities from performing abortions unless the pregnant woman's life is at stake.