Ebook294 pages7 hours
Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom
By Peter Wenz
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
"This excellent books is bound to stir debate on the abortion issue and to occupy a rather distinctive position."
--R.G. Frey, Bowling Green State University
With the current composition of the Supreme Court and recent challenges to Roe v. Wade, Peter S. Wenz's new approach to the ethical, moral, and legal issues related to a woman's right to elective abortion may turn the tide in this debate. He argues that the Supreme Court reached the right decision in Roe v. Wade but for the wrong reasons. Wenz contends that a woman's right to terminated her pregnancy should be based, not on her constitutional right to privacy, but on the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, a basis for freedom of choice that is not subject to the legal criticisms advanced against Roe. At least up to the 20th week of a pregnancy, one's belief whether a human fetus is a human person or not is a religious decision. He maintains that because questions about the moral status of a fetus are religious, it follows that anti-abortion legislation, to the extent that it is predicated on such "inherently religious beliefs," is unconstitutional.
In this timely and topical book, Wenz also examines related cases that deal with government intervention in an individual's procreative life, the regulation of contraceptives, and other legislation that is either applied to or imposed upon select groups of people (e.g., homosexuals, drug addicts). He builds a concrete argument that could replace Roe v. Wade.
Reviews
"In this important study of abortion and the Constitiution, legal philosopher Peter Wenz contends that Roe v. Wade was wrongly argued but well conlcuded. Wenz presents a substantial review of Supreme Court decisions on abortion, then critically exposes flaws, including the privacy justification for abortion as well as the trimester scheme.
--Religious Studies Review
"In this major work, Peter Wenz has analyzed the relation of the Constitution's religion clauses to the abortion controversy. His principal contribution is to shift the argument from the right of privacy (invoked, he believes, unsuccessfully in Roe v. Wade) to the Establishment Clause. The Court's concern in Roe was whether the statute unduly burdened a fundamental right. But tested by the Establishment Clause, statutes may violate the Constitution by implicitly endorsing a religious belief, namely, the personhood of the unborn. Wenz concludes that the Establishment Clause permits abortions prior to the twenty-first week of pregnancy."
--C. Herman Prichett, Professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara
"This is an original and scholarly exposition of the view that abortion rights fall under the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The view defended is an important alternative to the privacy defense upon which the Roe v. Wade decision was based and should help to expand the ethical and constitutional debate about abortion rights."
--Mary Anne Warren, Associate Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University, and author of Gendercide: The Implications of Sex Selection
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Roe v. Wade under Attack • Individual Rights and Majority Rule • Constitutional Interpretation • Preview of Chapters
1. The Derivation of Roe v. Wade
Economic Substantive Due Process • Due Process and the Family • Contraception and Privacy in Griswold v. Connecticut • Contraception and Privacy in Eisenstadt v. Baird • Blackmun's Privacy Rationale in Roe v. Wade • Stewart's Due Process Rationale in Roe v. Wade • Tribe on Substantive Due Process • Conclusion
2. Potentiality and Viability
The Roe v. Wade Decision • The Concept of Viability in Abortion Cases • Dividing the Gestational Continuum • The Genetic Approach to Personhood • Viability versus Similarity to Newborns • Two Consequentialist Arguments • Feminism and Viability • Conclusion
3. The Evolution of "Religion"
Religion in the
--R.G. Frey, Bowling Green State University
With the current composition of the Supreme Court and recent challenges to Roe v. Wade, Peter S. Wenz's new approach to the ethical, moral, and legal issues related to a woman's right to elective abortion may turn the tide in this debate. He argues that the Supreme Court reached the right decision in Roe v. Wade but for the wrong reasons. Wenz contends that a woman's right to terminated her pregnancy should be based, not on her constitutional right to privacy, but on the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, a basis for freedom of choice that is not subject to the legal criticisms advanced against Roe. At least up to the 20th week of a pregnancy, one's belief whether a human fetus is a human person or not is a religious decision. He maintains that because questions about the moral status of a fetus are religious, it follows that anti-abortion legislation, to the extent that it is predicated on such "inherently religious beliefs," is unconstitutional.
In this timely and topical book, Wenz also examines related cases that deal with government intervention in an individual's procreative life, the regulation of contraceptives, and other legislation that is either applied to or imposed upon select groups of people (e.g., homosexuals, drug addicts). He builds a concrete argument that could replace Roe v. Wade.
Reviews
"In this important study of abortion and the Constitiution, legal philosopher Peter Wenz contends that Roe v. Wade was wrongly argued but well conlcuded. Wenz presents a substantial review of Supreme Court decisions on abortion, then critically exposes flaws, including the privacy justification for abortion as well as the trimester scheme.
--Religious Studies Review
"In this major work, Peter Wenz has analyzed the relation of the Constitution's religion clauses to the abortion controversy. His principal contribution is to shift the argument from the right of privacy (invoked, he believes, unsuccessfully in Roe v. Wade) to the Establishment Clause. The Court's concern in Roe was whether the statute unduly burdened a fundamental right. But tested by the Establishment Clause, statutes may violate the Constitution by implicitly endorsing a religious belief, namely, the personhood of the unborn. Wenz concludes that the Establishment Clause permits abortions prior to the twenty-first week of pregnancy."
--C. Herman Prichett, Professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara
"This is an original and scholarly exposition of the view that abortion rights fall under the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The view defended is an important alternative to the privacy defense upon which the Roe v. Wade decision was based and should help to expand the ethical and constitutional debate about abortion rights."
--Mary Anne Warren, Associate Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University, and author of Gendercide: The Implications of Sex Selection
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Roe v. Wade under Attack • Individual Rights and Majority Rule • Constitutional Interpretation • Preview of Chapters
1. The Derivation of Roe v. Wade
Economic Substantive Due Process • Due Process and the Family • Contraception and Privacy in Griswold v. Connecticut • Contraception and Privacy in Eisenstadt v. Baird • Blackmun's Privacy Rationale in Roe v. Wade • Stewart's Due Process Rationale in Roe v. Wade • Tribe on Substantive Due Process • Conclusion
2. Potentiality and Viability
The Roe v. Wade Decision • The Concept of Viability in Abortion Cases • Dividing the Gestational Continuum • The Genetic Approach to Personhood • Viability versus Similarity to Newborns • Two Consequentialist Arguments • Feminism and Viability • Conclusion
3. The Evolution of "Religion"
Religion in the
Related to Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom
Related ebooks
Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Conquering the Political Divide: How the Constitution Can Heal Our Polarized Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Decade of Disruption: America in the New Millennium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMidnight Basketball: Race, Sports, and Neoliberal Social Policy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConserving Liberty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCourting Disaster: How the Supreme Court is Usurping the Power of Congress and the People Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Silver Bullet for Roe V. Wade-Revised 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet's Look at Our Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThis Sovereign Land: A New Vision For Governing The West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gun Violence and the Fight for Public Safety Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Beltway Beast: Stealing from Future Generations and Destroying the Middle Class Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow Civic Action Works: Fighting for Housing in Los Angeles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocracy Declined: The Failed Politics of Consumer Financial Protection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStrength in Numbers?: The Political Mobilization of Racial and Ethnic Minorities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScandal: How "Gotcha" Politics Is Destroying America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weathermen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of the United States (Serapis Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Science of Right Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Founding Fathers versus Tucker Carlson Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAftermath: The Unintended Consequences of Public Policies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Nation Undecided: Clear Thinking about Five Hard Issues That Divide Us Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Faithful Magistrates and Republican Lawyers: Creators of Virginia Legal Culture, 1680-1810 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quarry Closing In On the Missing Link Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Supreme Court Review, 2020 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Politics of North Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Roosevelt Court: A Study in Judicial Politics and Values, 1937-1947 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics: Mental Illness and Homelessness in Los Angeles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Philosophy For You
The Little Book of Stoicism: Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Allegory of the Cave Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bhagavad Gita (in English): The Authentic English Translation for Accurate and Unbiased Understanding Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The School of Life: An Emotional Education: An Emotional Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mindfulness in Plain English: 20th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bhagavad Gita Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Here Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude: The Life-changing Power of Everyday Mindfulness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Course in Miracles: Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brain Training with the Buddha: A Modern Path to Insight Based on the Ancient Foundations of Mindfulness Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denial of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lessons of History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom - Peter Wenz
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1