Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History

[T](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1252417700)he 3[r](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1252417700)d[ ](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1252417700)edition (AZW3/EPUB is sample) was published in 2021. ISBN and ASIN for that edition. chronology, 1803-2010: PDF pp. 358-61 [leaked **SCOTUS initial** Dobbs v. Jackson **opinion**](https://isidore.co/forum/index.php/topic,261.msg820.html#msg820), Justice Alito circulated (10 Feb. 2022): Alito's intro. (pp. 1-6) gives a good overview of *Roe v. Wade* , its arbitrary trimester scheme, and flaky justification. p. 2: > [ *Roe* 's] survey of history ranged from the constitutionally irrelevant ( *e.g.* , its discussion of abortion in antiquity) to the plainly incorrect ( *e.g.* , its assertion that abortion was probably never a crime under the common law). cf. Hilger's [*The Fake and Deceptive Science Behind Roe v. Wade: Settled Law v. Settled Science*](https://isidore.co/calibre/#panel=book_details&book_id=7992) *Planned Parenthood v. Casey* 's scrapping *Roe* 's trimester scheme (p. 4): > *Casey* threw out Roe's trimester scheme and substituted a new rule of uncertain origin under which States were forbidden to adopt any regulation that imposed an "undue burden" on a woman's right to have an abortion. pp. 68-91: Appendix A: > This appendix contains statutes criminalizing abortion at all stages of pregnancy in the States existing in 1868. The statutes appear in chronological order. pp. 92-98: Appendix B: > This appendix contains statutes criminalizing abortion at all stages in each of the territories that became States and in the District of Columbia. The statutes appear in chronological order of enactment. * * * Few Supreme Court decisions have stirred up as much controversy, vitriolic debate, and even violence as the one delivered in *Roe v. Wade* in 1973. Four decades later, it remains a touchstone for the culture wars in the United States and a pivot upon which much of our politics turns. With that in mind the authors have now taken stock of the abortion debates, controversies, and cases that have emerged during the past decade in order to update their book on this landmark case. Like the original edition, the new one highlights the abortion issue's historical background ; highlights Roe v. Wade's core issues, essential personalities, and key precedents ; tracks the case's path through the courts ; clarifies the jurisprudence behind the court's ruling in Roe ; and gauges its impact on American society and subsequent challenges to it in *Webster v. Reproductive Services* (1989) and *Casey v. Planned Parenthood* (1992). The new edition, however, adds two completely new chapters covering abortion politics and legal battles in the post-9/11 era, along with a new preface and a much revised epilogue and conclusion. The new material covers, among other things, the surprising results from recent public opinion polls ; the impact of the presidential elections of George W. Bush and Barack Obama ; Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor ; two major 5-4 Supreme Court decisions: *Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood* and *Gonzales v. Carhart* , that confirmed the constitutionality of the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act" ; the murder of abortion provider George Tiller by Scott Roeder and the latter's trial and conviction ; and the appearance of the abortion issue in the debate over health care reform legislation Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-357) and index Abortion becomes a crime, 1800-1900 -- Abortion and birth control, 1900-1965 -- From repression to reform, the road to Roe, 1960-1970 -- The decision in Roe, 1971-1973 -- Roe under siege, 1973-1988 -- The two Roes, 1989-1992 -- Roe in the Clinton years, 1993-2000 -- The abortion rights controversy in the Bush era -- The Roberts court confronts abortion -- Choices : the election of 2008 and beyond -- The never-ending story * * * Studies of abortion issues are common, but mostly partisan. With a deliberately (and rather successfully) even hand, law professor Hull and history professor Hoffer (coauthors of Impeachment in America) set out to answer one central question: how did abortion become illegal in America? Before Anthony Comstock's 1870s "anti-vice" campaigns, government was relatively uninvolved with women's pregnancies, which were seen as private. Our modern Congress, on the other hand, tries to legislate what doctors can tell pregnant women and even attempts to micromanage the actual abortion procedure by trying to outlaw certain techniques. By examining the roles of as many players as possible religious authorities, politicians, judges, doctors, activists, lawyers, etc. Hull and Hoffer piece together the story and explain the relevant legal workings. In another context, constitutional language might seem too dull, but with the abortion issue at center stage for so many Americans, this very scholarly work is also a page-turner. Legal terms (undue burden, class action suits, injunctions) are cleanly explained in a few concise sentences when they first appear. To orient the uninitiated, the authors interweave brief biographies of key figures (e.g., Thurgood Marshall and Antonin Scalia). No footnotes interrupt the flow: anything readers need to know is worked into the narrative. Important sources are reviewed in an excellent bibliographic essay at the end of the book. The most recent addition to the lively Landmark Law Cases and American Society series, this remarkable volume should be popular with law scholars and lay readers alike. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. ### Review "The authors take an evenhanded approach to abortion without advocating a policy position or preaching the moral implications of either side. Thus it is well suited for the classroom as it allows the instructor to facilitate a debate on abortion without alienating large segments of students."--Law and Politics Book Review "A page-turner that is also very scholarly, this remarkable book should be popular with lay readers and law scholars alike."--Publishers Weekly "While there are hundreds of books on various aspects of abortion in society, this one does an unusually good job of covering the full legal history from Colonial times to the present. Very readable and highly recommended."--Library Journal "Skillfully marshals an impressive amount of material from social history, legal history, and politics."--Washington Post Book World "Much more than a compact account of the Supreme Court's basic abortion decisions, Hull and Hoffer's work ranges widely to locate the constitutional and political controversies over abortion in the context of social movements and women's history. An astute and balanced guide to a much-debated subject."-- **Mark V. Tushnet** , author of *Abortion: Constitutional Issues* "Hull and Hoffer move from big-picture issues to key case details without ever losing sight of the very human side of American law and politics. Their book is a wonderful resource for students of all ages looking for basic information and important insights into one of the truly landmark law cases in our nation's history."-- **Sarah Weddington** , author of *A Question of Choice* \--This text refers to the [paperback](https://smile.amazon.com/dp/070061754X?ie=UTF8&n=133140011) edition. ### From the Back Cover "Much more than a compact account of the Supreme Court's basic abortion decisions, Hull and Hoffer's work ranges widely to locate the constitutional and political controversies over abortion in the context of social movements and women's history. An astute and balanced guide to a much-debated subject."--Mark V. Tushnet, author of *Abortion: Constitutional Issues* "Hull and Hoffer move from big-picture issues to key case details without ever losing sight of the very human side of American law and politics. Their book is a wonderful resource for students of all ages looking for basic information and important insights into one of the truly landmark law cases in our nation's history."--Sarah Weddington, author of *A Question of Choice* \--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. ### **From**[ **Booklist**](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000027801) **** Major events in history are seldom simple: they echo the past and reverberate into the future in unexpected ways. This book offers examples of this complexity. Hull and coauthor Peter Charles Hoffer edit University Press of Kansas' Landmark Law Cases series; Hull teaches law and history at Rutgers University-Camden, and Hoffer is a University of Georgia historian. Their *Roe* v. *Wade* study begins with three chapters on U.S. abortion history: its nineteenth-century criminalization; the effect of improving birth-control methods in the twentieth century; and state-level legal changes in the 1960s. The authors then analyze the decision itself and trace the continuing battles of the next three decades, including the landmark *Web* ster and *Casey* decisions. The book closes with thoughtful discussion of what this "never-ending story" reveals about American values and recent U.S. history. *Mary Carroll* *Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved* \--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. ### From Library Journal Hull (law and history, Rutgers Univ.) and Hoffer (history, Univ. of Georgia) here explain how abortion in the United States came to be criminalized in the 19th century, decriminalized in the 20th century's Roe v. Wade case (1973), and the subject of court and legislative battles ever since. They also offer clear and detailed discussions of the court decisions and legislative efforts that promoted or impeded abortion rights, including the strategies of lawyers and backgrounds of parties and judges. Also discussed are how many social forces feminist, paternalist, misogynist, racist, and others have affected abortion law. This study considers many fascinating aspects of abortion in the United States, including the connection between eugenics and banning abortion and the relationship between the contraceptive-rights and abortion-rights movements. The authors conclude with a bibliographic essay and a chronology of events. While there are hundreds of books on various aspects of abortion in society, this one does an unusually good job of covering the full legal history from Colonial times to 2001. It is crammed with information but remains very readable and a good source for student papers. Highly recommended for high school, academic, and public libraries. Mary Jane Brustman, SUNY at Albany Libs. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. ### About the Author N. E. H. Hull is Distinguished Professor of Law and a member of the graduate faculty in history at Rutgers University-Camden. Peter Charls Hoffer is Research Professor of History at the University of Georgia. They are authors of twelve books between them. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.