The unmarried natural father of an unborn child applied to the US Supreme Court for an injunction forbidding the mother of the child to have an abortion. Justice Stevens, acting as Circuit Justice, denied the application. He ruled that the father's interest in the unborn child was outweighed by the mother's constitutionally protected right to have an abortion and that serious doubts existed whether there was a federal remedy to the father's request since the mother could obtain an abortion without the State or any governmental division taking any action. In 1988, similar decisions were reached in the following cases: 1) Doe vs. Smith, Supreme Court of Indiana, 24 August 1988 (527 N.E.2d 177); 2) Conn vs. Conn, Supreme Court of Indiana, 15 July 1988 (526 N.E.2d 958); 3) Steinhoff vs. Steinhoff, Supreme Court of New York, Nassau County, 29 June 1988 (140 Misc.2d 397); 4) Anderson vs. Anderson, Minnesota District Court, 8 July 1988 (Family Law Reporter, Vol. 14, 2 August 1988, p. 1462); and 5) Myers vs. Lewis, Michigan Court of Appeals, 15 September 1988 (Family Law Reporter, Vol. 15, 29 November 1988, p. 1059).
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