Due Process Hypotheticals

1. The State of Stone has enacted a law for the purpose of informed consent that requires a woman seeking an abortion to first undergo a fetal sonogram, listen to the heartbeat of the fetus, and listen to her physician explain to her the sonogram images. A woman may decline to view the images of the fetus or hear the heartbeat, but she may not decline to receive an explanation of the sonogram images unless she certifies that her pregnancy falls into one of three statutory exceptions. The three exceptions are (1) pregnancy as a result of rape or incest which has been reported or, if it has not been reported, was not reported because the woman reasonably risks retaliation resulting in serious bodily injury, (2) a minor taking advantage of judicial bypass procedures to avoid parental notification, or (3) a fetus with an irreversible medical condition or abnormality. If seeking to avoid the description of the sonogram images, the woman must indicate within which exception she falls.

Does the law impose an undue burden?

2. The State of Stone is concerned that there has been a substantial decline in its population due to the fact that fewer married couples are having children. Upon investigation, the State has learned that one significant contributing factor to the decline is an increase in the number of men who are undergoing vasectomies. There are two commonly used methods of performing a vasectomy, V/E and V/X. Both methods are as likely to be successful, and both methods have some potential side effects, but V/E is 10% more likely to produce impotence than V/X.  To impress upon men the importance of fatherhood, the State of Stone has banned the use of the V/X method while continuing to permit the V/E method.

Is the ban on the V/X method of performing a vasectomy constitutional?