Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe V. Wade, Updated

by David J. Garrow

Book Overview

Liberty and Sexuality is a definitive account of the legal and political struggles that created the right to privacy and won constitutional protection for a woman's right to choose abortion. Roe v. Wade , the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established that right, grew out of not only efforts to legalize abortion but also out of earlier battles against statutes that criminalized birth control. When the U.S. Supreme Court in 1965, in Griswold...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520213025
• ISBN13: 9780520213029
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 1064 Pages
• Weight: 3.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.2" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Dry, but informative

I purchased this text for an Indepdendent Study course, figuring I could at least flip through the book and gain a summary idea of the case's depths and legal foundation. Although I prided myself on a good grasp of Roe prior to this point, reading the expansive text gave me a greater understanding and appreciation for the case. While this book might be better suited for policy wonks and/or those with some legal training, the substantial read is definently worth it. Even if it is not as animated or lively as other histories of the historic 1973 Supreme Court decision, it is essential to understanding that case in the larger context of constitutional law and public policy. The right to privacy had gradually been building prior to the Roe case, and did not happen in a vaccum as some opponents would later claim. The book concludes with an equally impressive account of the years following Roe and the combined impact of subsequent/rulings and legislation. Because this book does not rely on the "interest groups/grassroots" perspective, individuals in search of such information need to be prepared for further research.

Outstanding

This book is a must read for anyone exploring the law surrounding reproductive rights in this country. I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the law, in the legal right to privacy, and who is willing and eager to learn. It is by far the most enlightening and simply outstanding book I have read on the subject.