Skip to main content

Roe v. Wade Turns 40

By

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued the landmark decision, holding that certain laws prohibiting abortion are unconstitutional.  Even though the decision is 40 years old, the controversy surrounding the case and the issue of abortion persists.

There are a number of resources available if you would like to learn more about the case, the impact it has had, and where this issue is headed.  The full opinion is available on the Legal Information Institute website and other information about the case, including a summary and audio/transcripts of the oral arguments, can be found on the Oyez Project website dedicated to the decision.  As you might expect, there are also a number of recent news reports discussing the decision and reflecting on what it means today.  Also, for current information about abortion laws and public opinion, try the National Conference of State Legislatures abortion laws site as well as the results of the recent Pew Forum survey Roe v. Wade at 40. 

The library also has several books on the topic if you would like to do more in-depth reading on the issue.  For instance, see:

A Documentary history of the legal aspects of abortion in the United States : Roe v. Wade, compiled by Roy M. Mersky and Gary R. Hartman - KF228.R59D64 1993 (3 volumes)

Roe v. Wade : the abortion rights controversy in American history, N.E.H. Hull - KF228.R59H85 2010

What Roe v. Wade should have said : the nation's top legal experts rewrite America's most controversial decision, edited by Jack M. Balkin - KF228.R59 W47 2005

The abortion rights controversy in America : a legal reader, edited by N.E.H. Hull, et al. - KF3771.A937 2004

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Amazing, but True, Deportation Story of Carlos Marcello

By
Earlier this week, the University of Houston Law Center was fortunate to have as its guest Professor Daniel Kanstroom of Boston College of Law. An expert in immigration law, he is the Director of the International Human Rights Program, and he both founded and directs the Boston College Immigration and Asylum Clinic. Speaking as the guest of the Houston Journal of International Law’s annual Fall Lecture Series, Professor Kanstroom discussed issues raised in his new book, Aftermath: Deportation Law and the New American Diaspora . Professor Michael Olivas introduced Professor Kanstroom to the audience, and mentioned the fascinating tale of Carlos Marcello, which Professor Kanstroom wrote about in his chapter “The Long, Complex, and Futile Deportation Saga of Carlos Marcello,” in Immigration Stories , a collection of narratives about leading immigration law cases. My interest piqued, I read and was amazed by Kanstroom’s description of one of the most interesting figures in American le...
1 comment
Read more

This Day in Legal History -- Roy Cohn

By
Big lawyers have big personalities, and few had as big a personality as Roy Cohn who was born on this day in New York City in 1927. Cohn’s career was spent in the Washington DC—New York axis, famous in the press for his legal and social exploits, his list of famous and infamous clients, and as the poster-boy for every stereotype of the dishonest grasping lawyer. The legal career of Roy Cohn is an object lesson on the use, and abuse, of the lawyer’s power. Roy Cohn was born on February 20, 1927 in New York City. His father was a justice in the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court and was well connected politically. These connections, along with a precocious intelligence which allowed him to graduate from Columbia law school at age 20, paved the way for a bright legal career. Cohn’s first job (after waiting until he turned 21 to be admitted to the bar) was as an assistant U.S. Attorney in New York. He first came to prominence in his role as a prosecutor in the Rosenberg espi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lessons for Today from the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda

By Anonymous
“Man’s inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad. It is also perpetrated by the vitiating inaction of those who are good.” –Martin Luther King Jr.   Last week, I had the pleasure of attending  Professor Zachary D. Kaufman ’s presentation on  Lessons for Today from the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda  hosted by the  Johannesburg Holocaust & Geno cide Ce ntre . Among the many takeaways highlighted by Professor Kaufman and drawn from  Lessons from Rwanda: Post-Genocide Law and Policy   were ten simple yet profound lessons:   Lesson #1: Hate speech is dangerous.   To illustrate the role that hate speech played in the Rwandan genocide, Professor Kaufman discussed multiple forms of  propaganda , such as Kangura, Radio Rwanda, and RTLM “hate radio.”   He concludes that we must have limits, including with respect to social media, and further asserts that social media must do a better jo...
Post a Comment
Read more