Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)

Beginning With The Introduction Of Abortion Law In The Nineteenth Century, This Reader Includes Important Documents From Nearly Two Hundred Years Of Debate Over Abortion. These Legal Briefs, Oral Arguments, Court Opinions, Newspaper Reports, Opinion Pieces, And Contemporary Essays Are Introduced With Headnotes That Place Them In Historical Context. This Collection Brings Together The Writings Of Doctors, Lawyers, Scientists, Philosophers, Elected Officials, Judges, And Scholars As Few Other Legal Readers Do, And It Is Essential Reading For Those Engaged In The Ongoing Debate About Abortion Law In The United States.--jacket. Abortion Becomes A Crime -- Birth Control And The Abortion Law Reform Movement -- The Right To An Abortion -- Roe V. Wade Before The High Court -- Regulating And Funding Abortions -- Nineteen Eighty-nine : A Year Of Decision -- Regulation And Controversy In The Post-webster Era -- Freedom Of Speech Versus Free Access To Clinics. Edited By N. E. H. Hull, William James Hoffer, And Peter Charles Hoffer. Includes Bibliographical References. "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. Almost five decades later, it remains a touchstone for the culture wars in the United States and a pivot upon which much of our politics turns. N. E. H. Hull and Peter Charles Hoffer have taken stock of the abortion debates, controversies, and cases that have emerged in recent years in order to update their book on this landmark case. As with the first two editions, the book details the case'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; assesses the impact of the presidential elections of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, along with the confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor; and gauges its impact on American society and subsequent challenges to it in Webster v. Reproductive Services (1989), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), and Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). The new edition adds two completely new chapters covering abortion politics and legal battles in Obama's second term and Donald J. Trump's first term. The new material covers two important cases in detail: Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016) and June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo (2020). The cases dealt with state laws (Texas and Louisiana, respectively) designed to limit access to abortion by requiring doctors performing abortions to have admission privileges at a state-authorized hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. In both cases the Court ruled the laws unconstitutional, thus handing the abortion rights activists key victories in the face of an increasingly conservative Court. The new chapters also cover the confirmations of Justices Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as the heated political environment surrounding the Court in the age of Trump"-- Provided by the publisher "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. Almost five decades later, it remains a touchstone for the culture wars in the United States and a pivot upon which much of our politics turns. N.E.H. Hull and Peter Charles Hoffer have taken stock of the abortion debates, controversies, and cases that have emerged in recent years in order to update their book on this landmark case. As with the first two editions, the book details the case'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; assesses the impact of the presidential elections of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, along with the confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor; and gauges its impact on American society and subsequent challenges to it in Webster v. Reproductive Services (1989), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), and Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). The new edition adds two completely new chapters covering abortion politics and legal battles in Obama's second term and Donald J. Trump's first term. The new material covers two important cases in detail: Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016) and June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo (2020). The cases dealt with state laws (Texas and Louisiana, respectively) designed to limit access to abortion by requiring doctors performing abortions to have admission privileges at a state-authorized hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. In both cases the Court ruled the laws unconstitutional, thus handing the abortion rights activists key victories in the face of an increasingly conservative Court. The new chapters also cover the confirmations of Justices Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as the heated political environment surrounding the Court in the age of Trump"-- Résumé de l'éditeur "Beginning with the introduction of abortion law in the nineteenth century, this reader includes important documents from nearly two hundred years of debate over abortion. These legal briefs, oral arguments, court opinions, newspaper reports, opinion pieces, and contemporary essays are introduced with headnotes that place them in historical context." "This collection brings together the writings of doctors, lawyers, scientists, philosophers, elected officials, judges, and scholars as few other legal readers do, and it is essential reading for those engaged in the ongoing debate about abortion law in the United States."--BOOK JACKET. Beginning with the introduction of abortion law in the 19th century, this reader includes important documents from nearly two hundred years of debate over abortion. These legal briefs, oral arguments, court opinions, newspaper reports, opinion pieces, and contemporary essays are introduced with headnotes that place them in historical context Although the controversy over Roe v. Wade has made it seem that the last quarter of the twentieth century is the most important historical era for understanding abortion and abortion rights in America, the law of abortion changed just as dramatically in the first half of the nineteenth century in our country as in the last fifty years.

This book compiles a balanced selection of important documents--legal briefs, oral arguments, court opinions, statutes, newspaper reports, opinion pieces, contemporary essays--relating to debates over abortion in the U.S. over the past 200 years.