Abortion and Divorce in Western Law - Mary Ann Glendon

Abortion and Divorce in Western Law

By: Mary Ann Glendon

Paperback | 1 January 1989 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


$141.95

or 4 interest-free payments of $35.49 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 10 to 15 business days

What can abortion and divorce laws in other countries teach Americans about these thorny issues? In this incisive new book, noted legal scholar Mary Ann Glendon looks at the experiences of twenty Western nations, including the United States, and shows how they differ, subtly but profoundly, from one another. Her findings challenge many widely held American beliefs. She reveals, for example, that a compromise on the abortion question is not only possible but typical, even in societies that are deeply divided on the matter. Regarding divorce, the extensive reliance on judicial discretion in the United States is not the best way to achieve fairness in arranging child support, spousal maintenance, or division of property-to judge by the experience of other countries. Glendon's analysis, by searching out alternatives to current U.S. practice, identities new possibilities of reform in these areas. After the late 1960s abortion and divorce became more readily available throughout the West-and most readily in this country-but the approach of American law has been anomalous. Compared with other Western nations, the United States permits less regulation of abortion in the interest of the fetus, provides less public support for maternity and child-rearing, and does less to mitigate the economic hardships of divorce through public assistance or enforcement of private obligations of support.

Glendon looks at these and more profound differences in the light of a powerful new method of legal interpretation. She sees each country's laws as part of a symbol-creating system that yields a distinctive portrait of individuals, human life, and relations between men and women, parents and children, families and larger communities. American law, more than that of other countries, employs a rhetoric of rights, individual liberty, and tolerance for diversity that, unchecked, contributes to the fragmentation of community and its values. Contemporary U.S. family law embodies a narrative about divorce, abortion, and dependency that is probably not the story most Americans would want to tell about these sad and complex matters but that is recognizably related to many of their most cherished ideals.

Industry Reviews
This book should change the way abortion and divorce are discussed in the United States. -- Daniel A. Degnan Commonweal Ms. Glendon is an intelligent and humane scholar, and her argument is mounted with admirable incisiveness. -- Paul Robinson New York Times Book Review [An] extraordinary study...The courageous goal of Mary Ann Glendon's book is precisely to try to resurrect the idea of law as educational...[Ours is] a nation bitterly engaged in a fight over abortion and over a divorce law that imposes hardship on the very parties that looked to it as an engine of liberty. Abortion and Divorce in Western Law, a serious and compassionate book, shows us that another way is both possible and eminently sensible. -- Daniel Casse Commentary

More in Jurisprudence & General Issues

Australian Law Dictionary : 3rd edition - Trischa Mann

RRP $89.95

$57.25

36%
OFF
Legal Studies for VCE Units 1 & 2 Student Book+obook pro : 15th Edition - Lisa Filippin
First Knowledges Law : The Way of the Ancestors - Marcia Langton
Connecting With Law : 5th Edition - Michelle Sanson

RRP $124.95

$100.35

20%
OFF
Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice : 3rd edition - Rob White
The Outback Court Reporter - Jamelle Wells

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Ethics and Legal Professionalism in Australia : 3rd edition - Paula Baron
Examining Crime and Justice around the World : Global Viewpoints - Janet P. Stamatel
Filming the First : Cinematic Portrayals of Freedom of the Press - Helen J. Knowles
True Tracks : Respecting Indigenous knowledge and culture - Terri Janke
Introduction to Oil Tanker and Gas Carrier Operations - Alexander Arnfinn Olsen
Business and Company Law : 3rd Edition - Nickolas James

RRP $131.95

$114.90

13%
OFF
Safety at Work - John Channing

RRP $189.00

$138.25

27%
OFF
Lawyers' Professional Responsibility : 7th Edition - Gino Dal Pont

RRP $190.00

$162.75

14%
OFF
Business Law : 6th Edition - Nickolas James

RRP $169.95

$144.90

15%
OFF