"The decisions of this Court which implicitly recognize rights of marital and personal privacy have been followed by state and federal court decisions expressly holding the decision of abortion to be within the sphere of constitutionally protected privacy. That there is a fundamental constitutional right to abortion was the conclusion of the court below in the instant case.... That view has been shared by a number of other courts which have considered the question and have affirmed that this is a fundamental right.... Without the ability to control their reproductive capacity, women and couples are largely unable to control determinative aspects of their lives and marriages. If the concept of “fundamental rights” means anything, it must surely include the right to determine when and under what circumstances to have children."
January 1, 1970