In the case of Connecticut v. Menillo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that states have the authority to regulate and prosecute illegal abortions performed by non-physicians, even after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide. The defendant, Robert Menillo was a non-physician who had been convicted under Connecticut law for performing an illegal abortion on a woman who subsequently died from complications related to the procedure. He appealed his conviction arguing that Roe v Wade invalidated state laws regulating abortion procedures not performed by licensed physicians as it made all abortions legal regardless of who performs them. The court disagreed with this interpretation and upheld his conviction stating that while Roe v Wade did decriminalize many aspects of abortion practice for medical professionals, it did not extend these protections to those without proper medical licensing or training such as Mr.Menillo himself.

In the dissenting opinion for Connecticut v. Menillo, Justice William O. Douglas argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law criminalizing non-physician-performed abortions was inconsistent with previous Supreme Court rulings on abortion rights, particularly Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton which established a woman’s constitutional right to choose an abortion under certain circumstances. He contended that these decisions implicitly recognized women's ability to decide who should perform their abortions - whether it be physicians or other competent individuals such as trained midwives or nurses - without interference from the state government unless there is compelling reason related to health and safety of mother involved in procedure itself rather than professional qualifications of person performing it.