In the case of Ray v. United States in 1986, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a Jehovah's Witness who was convicted for selling religious literature without a permit could not use his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion as defense against his conviction. The court held that while the First Amendment protects religious beliefs, it does not protect every act made in the name of religion or belief. In this case, Jesse James Ray had been distributing Watchtower magazines on public streets in Birmingham, Alabama without obtaining a required city permit. He argued that requiring such permits violated his constitutional rights to free exercise of religion and free speech but both lower courts disagreed with him and upheld his conviction which was later affirmed by Supreme Court ruling.

In the dissenting opinion for Ray v. United States, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Florida law requiring parental consent for minors seeking an abortion violated constitutional rights and set a dangerous precedent. The dissenters believed that this ruling undermined Roe v. Wade by allowing states to impose restrictions on abortions that could potentially endanger women's health or force them into unwanted parenthood. They also expressed concern about the lack of exceptions in cases where pregnancy posed serious risks to a minor’s physical or mental health, arguing that these situations should be considered separately from those involving adult women due to their unique vulnerabilities and needs. Furthermore, they criticized the court's failure to consider whether alternative measures such as judicial bypass procedures would provide adequate protection for minors' rights while still addressing state interests in promoting parental involvement.