Robin v. Incorporated Village of Hempstead, 30 N.Y.2d 347 (1972)
When the state has demonstrated a clear intent to comprehensively regulate a particular field, such as medical procedures, local municipalities are preempted from enacting ordinances in the same area unless explicitly authorized by the state.
Summary
This case addresses whether a village ordinance restricting abortions to hospitals is valid when state law already regulates the practice of medicine and abortions. The Court of Appeals held that the ordinance was invalid because the State of New York had preempted the field of abortion regulation through comprehensive legislation and administrative rules. The court reasoned that allowing municipalities to create their own abortion regulations would undermine the state’s uniform policy and that the village lacked specific authorization to enact such an ordinance.
Facts
Dr. Charles Robin, a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, performed abortions at his office in the Incorporated Village of Hempstead. The Village enacted an ordinance requiring all abortions to be performed in state-licensed and accredited hospitals. The Bill Baird Center, a family planning and birth control center where Dr. Robin also worked, did not meet these hospital requirements. The Village sought to enjoin Dr. Robin and the Center from performing abortions in violation of the ordinance.
Procedural History
The Supreme Court, Nassau County, consolidated two actions and declared the village ordinance valid, enjoining Dr. Robin and the Center from violating it. The Appellate Division reversed, holding that the ordinance was outside the scope of the Village’s powers. The Village appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
- Whether the Village of Hempstead’s ordinance, restricting abortions to hospitals, is valid given the State’s existing regulation of medicine and abortions.
Holding
- No, because the State of New York has preempted the field of abortion regulation, and the Village lacked specific authorization to enact its own ordinance.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that the State had demonstrated a clear intent to comprehensively regulate the practice of medicine, including abortions, through the Education Law, Public Health Law, and amendments to the Penal Law. The Public Health Law explicitly gives the Department of Health “the central, comprehensive responsibility for the development and administration of the state’s policy with respect to hospital and related services”.
The court emphasized that the State Department of Health had amended the State Hospital Code to regulate abortions in both hospitals and “independent out-of-hospital health facilities”. This indicated the State’s intention to occupy the entire field of abortion regulation, prohibiting additional regulation by local authorities.
The Court cited precedent, including Good Humor Corp. v. City of New York, 290 N.Y. 312 (1943), to support the principle that a municipality lacks authority to legislate on a matter when the State has expressed a policy to preempt the subject, “unless it is specifically empowered so to do in terms clear and explicit”. The Court found no such clear and explicit authorization in this case.
While villages have the general power to enact ordinances for the health of their inhabitants under Village Law § 89, subd. 59, this is not a delegation of the entire police power of the state and is limited to matters of an inherently local nature. The Court noted that there were no “special conditions” concerning the performance of abortions in the Village of Hempstead, as opposed to the rest of the State, which would warrant the local ordinance.
The Court also pointed out that when the Legislature amended the Penal Law to define a “justifiable abortional act,” it did not specify the place where such an act must be performed. The Legislature had considered bills that would have required abortions to be performed in certified hospitals, but these bills did not become law, indicating a deliberate choice not to impose such a restriction.
The Court acknowledged that health and safety considerations might justify requiring abortions to be performed in hospitals, but emphasized that the decision was solely about the Village of Hempstead lacking the power to enact the ordinance, not about the wisdom of such a restriction.