In ROE v. WADE: THE ABORTION RIGHTS CONTROVERSY IN AMERICAN HISTORY the authors attempt to answer one simple question: how and why "did one of the most intimate and private acts, a woman's decision to abort a fetus, become the object of intense public scrutiny and calumny ?" (p. 2). Through a
historical look at abortion politics from the early 1800s through the Clinton administration, Hull and Hoffer piece together an easily understood and engaging account of the ebbs and flows of abortion politics in the United States. As a consequence of approaching the abortion debate historically, the authors are able not only to detail changes in abortion policies, but also, and importantly, provide the reader with an understanding of the evolving relationships between men, women and the state that are reflected in abortion politics. The text is a worthy addition to the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series and makes a nice supplemental reading assignment in an upper level political science class, particularly a class in feminist or judicial politics.

Hull and Hoffer begin by explaining that abortion was once considered an acceptable birth control option. Indeed, in the early 1800s, abortion was one of the many choices women made on the reproductive continuum from conception to birth and its use was regulated by communities and religious institutions and not by the government. Abortion was, above all, a private matter between a woman, her doctor, and her family. By the early 1900s however, most states and the federal government had criminalized abortion and its use had become an issue of public concern. The authors convincingly explain this change as part of a larger movement towards the gendering of the law in which male politicians felt they had to protect women from their own weaknesses. Apart from the male politicians' views of women, the authors also explain the importance of geo-political forces (both World Wars and the Cold War, for example) to the legal status of abortion in the United States. Hull and Hoffer contend that the fear of communist infiltration and the war on communism as well as a perceived need to replenish the population following both World Wars contributed to the perception that rearing children was a woman's patriotic duty. This perception served to stigmatize anyone who sought an abortion and contributed to the move to keep abortion illegal. The authors' ability to relate to the reader the larger context in which the abortion decisions were made is a tremendous contribution of this book.

Upon laying this historical foundation, the authors explain in great

Page 56 begins here

detail the significance of GRISWOLD v. CONNECTICUT, taking care to examine the importance of GRISWOLD as both a product of and catalyst to the
feminist movement. For those less familiar with the right to privacy argument or the workings of the Supreme Court, Hull and Hoffer include clear and concise definitions and examples of legal terms when the terms are first used. The authors also introduce the relevant players in the GRISWOLD decision through short bibliographical sketches woven throughout the chapter. By examining the roles and motivations of many players--the justices, lawyers, doctors, religious and political leaders--Hull and Hoffer are able to provide a variety of perspectives on this seminal case and thus present a fair and balanced review of GRISWOLD and its contributions to the feminist movement and ultimately, the decision in ROE.

It is only after the story of abortion rights from the 1800s to the late 1960s and the impact of GRISWOLD is told that Hull and Hoffer move on to a discussion of ROE itself. This chronological structure helps to make one of the central points of the text: ROE v. WADE was not decided in a vacuum but rather was the result of a large confluence of forces including the civil rights and feminist movements, scientific developments, and the decision in GRISWOLD. Hull and Hoffer meticulously describe the legal strategies used in ROE and the legal outcome of ROE. Again placing emphasis on the actors involved in the case, the authors note the impact of groups like the National Organization of Women and the Roman Catholic Church to the case outcome. Moreover, Hull and Hoffer do not ignore the influence of the justices' own personal policy preferences and backgrounds to the ultimate decision but rather integrate the justices' ideological beliefs into the discussion. In
this chapter, more than anywhere else in the text, Hull and Hoffer tell a story, full of rich detail and vivid descriptions. Their account of the first meeting between Norma McCorvey, Sarah Weddington, and Linda Coffee and oral arguments during ROE are particularly engaging.

Just as the abortion debate did not start with ROE, it obviously did not end with ROE either. As such, in the final chapters of the book, Hull and Hoffer describe the pro-life movement and the attempts to overturn ROE by analyzing subsequent cases like WEBSTER v. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES (1989) and CASEY v. PLANNED PARENTHOOD (1992). This section of the text is not as clear in its message as the earlier chapters and the authors' point is at times buried in the mountain of detail provided to the reader. Although Hull and Hoffer nicely describe the political and social factors culminating in the pro-choice movement, their description of the pro-life movement is not as well conceived and the text would benefit from additional analysis of the era. The book concludes with speculation on the fate of abortion politics during the George W. Bush presidency.

Apart from the need for additional analysis of the post ROE era, in general this is a very well written, well-organized book and a useful addition to the literature on abortion. Because the authors firmly place ROE in its historical and political context, the reader can come to an understanding of how law and society interact, how politics and principals are shaped by forces beyond the immediate issue at hand, and how, in a democracy, issues of law are not always decided by concrete definitions of right and wrong but by the values society holds at any given moment in time. These are important

Page 57 begins here

points, and in a majority of the text, the authors make them well.

Moreover, the Hull and Hoffer do not make these points on a non-controversial topic. Indeed, ROE v WADE continues to spark tremendous discussion today, figuring heavily in voter calculations during political elections and serving as a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees. Nevertheless, although the topic is controversial, the authors take an even handed approach to abortion and are able to provide information to their readers without advocating a policy position or preaching the moral implications of either side. To this extent, the authors achieve a degree of professionalism and scholarship sometimes lacking in other books on
abortion.

Because the book does provide a relatively neutral discussion of abortion and abortion politics, it is well suited for the classroom as it allows the instructor to facilitate a debate on abortion without alienating large segments of students. In courses dealing specifically with constitutional law or judicial politics, students who only read the Court's final opinions sometimes fail to comprehend the larger implications of Supreme Court decisions or fail to understand the political factors which lead to major changes in the law. This problem is minimized if this text is used as a supplement to traditional textbooks on judicial politics. Students should be more able to understand the relationship between politics and societal norms because Hull and Hoffer thoroughly place ROE v WADE within the context of politics and social norms. Moreover, although I would limit use to upper division courses, the writing is clear and the text provides enough background information on the cases and the law that this book could be assigned in introductory political science classes. Finally, because of the subject matter, the text is also highly appropriate for upper level courses in feminist politics. It is, in short, a book worth reading and a book worth assigning.

**************************************************************************

Copyright 2002 by the author, Madhavi M. McCall.