The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History
The book 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 in the second edition 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.
"A page-turner that is also very scholarly, this remarkable book should be popular with lay readers and law scholars alike."
"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."
"Skillfully marshals an impressive amount of material from social history, legal history, and politics."
"The authors take an evenhanded approach to abortion without advocating a policy position or preaching the moral implications of either side. Thus the book is well suited for the classroom as it allows the instructor to facilitate a debate on abortion without alienating large segments of students."
"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."
"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."