Book Review: Beyond Abortion: Roe v. Wade and the Battle for Privacy
| Date | 01 October 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0964663919859771 |
| Author | Alana Farrell |
| Published date | 01 October 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Book Reviews
Social & Legal Studies
2019, Vol. 28(5) 719–733
Book Reviews
ª The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0964663919859771
journals.sagepub.com/home/sls
MARY ZIEGLER, Beyond Abortion: Roe v. Wade and the Battle for Privacy. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 2018, pp. 383, ISBN 9780674976702, £32.95 (pbk).
This book is an exploration of Roe v. Wade (Roe), a precedent that the author, Professor
Mary Ziegler, describes as, ‘a long shadow over American culture and politics’ (p. 1).
The way this shadow manifests, she argues, is through Roe’s reputation as ‘America’s
most controversial decision’ (p. 15) with a ‘legacy [that is] . . . complex’ (p. 252). Zieg-
ler’s goal with this book is to explore the impact of Roe on not just abortion rights and
reproductive justice in the United States but also the lesser known areas in which grass-
roots activists and politicians were ‘energized’ by the decision. As Roe was decided on a
right to privacy, Ziegler examines who in the aftermath of the decision asked ‘is there a
right to privacy? For whom, and what is protected?’ (cover material).
The campaigns that Ziegler has selected for discussion alongside abortion are wide
ranging and include sexual freedom campaigners, patients’ rights groups campaigning
for a right to refuse treatment, patients’ rights groups campaigning for a right to access
unproven treatments, disability rights groups and those campaigning for a right to die.
She begins tracing these movements by giving a brief synopsis of their developments
before Roe and then moving on to analyse the importance of right to privacy arguments
after Roe in the 1970s. When examining the use of Roe in the 1980s and 1990s, she
argues that this is when the now-familiar connotations with reproductive health emerged
and were developed. She then goes on to address the linking of Roe to judicial activism
and overreach, and the status of Roe in the United States today.
The diversity of groups and causes included in this book is a result of Ziegler taking a
wide interpretation of the influence of Roe. She argues that Roe’s legacy should be seen
not just by what was said in the Supreme Court but also ‘includes all that activists made it
mean’ (p. 2). This applies to those who used abortion rights arguments and those who
interpreted Roe’s ruling to apply to a ‘right to choose or a right to control one’s body’ (p.
2). She also analyses the impact of Roe on those who spoke of such rights without
mentioning Roe directly, or at all. Through using these examples, she makes a compel-
ling argument for...
To continue reading
Request your trial