Home > Great American Court Cases > Harris v. McRae

Legal Citation: 448 U.S. 297 (1980)

Appellants
Secretary of Health and Human Services Patricia R. Harris, joined by Senators James L. Buckley and Jesse A. Helms, and Representative Henry J. Hyde as "intervenor-defendants"

Appellees
Cora McRae, on behalf of herself and all New York state women similarly situated, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.

Appellants' Claim
That the Hyde Amendment was constitutional, and that states did not have to pay the costs of indigent women's abortions, even those found medically necessary.

Chief Lawyer for Appellants
Wade H. McCree, Jr., U.S. Solicitor General

Chief Lawyer for Appellees
Rhonda Copelon

Justices for the Court
Warren E. Burger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart (writing for the Court), Byron R. White

Justices...