Rethinking abortion : equal choice, the Constitution, and reproductive politics / Mark A. Graber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graber, Mark A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Abortion--Political aspects--United States.

Abortion.

Abortion--Government policy--United States.

Abortion--Moral and ethical aspects--United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (255 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Mark Graber looks at the history of abortion law in action to argue that the only defensible, constitutional approach to the issue is to afford all women equal choice--abortion should remain legal or bans should be strictly enforced. Steering away from metaphysical critiques of privacy, Graber compares the philosophical, constitutional, and democratic merits of the two systems of abortion regulation witnessed in the twentieth century: pre-Roe v. Wade statutory prohibitions on abortion and Roe's ban on significant state interference with the market for safe abortion services. He demonstrates that before Roe, pro-life measures were selectively and erratically administered, thereby subverting our constitutional commitment to equal justice. Claiming that these measures would be similarly administered if reinstated, the author seeks to increase support for keeping abortion legal, even among those who have reservations about its morality. Abortion should remain legal, Graber argues, because statutory bans on abortion have a history of being enforced in ways that intentionally discriminate against poor persons and persons of color. In the years before Roe, the same law enforcement officials who routinely ignored and sometimes assisted those physicians seeking to terminate pregnancies for their private patients too often prevented competent abortionists from offering the same services to the general public. This double standard violated the fundamental human and constitutional right of equal justice under law, a right that remains a major concern of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Sublime Theories, Ugly Facts

Chapter I. The Clash of Absolutes Revisited

Chapter II. Abortion Law in Action

Chapter III. Equal Choice

Chapter IV. Rule by Law

Chapter V. Realizing Equal Choice

Conclusion. The Allure of Pro-Life

Notes

Bibliography

Index of Cases

General Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-236) and indexes.

ISBN:

9786612753015

9781400816163

1400816165

9781400803019

1400803012

9781400811830

140081183X

9781282753013

1282753010

9781400821976

1400821975

OCLC:

845245937