Abortion, medicine, and the law

No moral issue pits American against American like the issue of abortion. Twenty years after Roe v. Wade, abortion still stirs more passion and inspires more debate than any issue affecting our lives. In the six years since the third edition of this highly praised volume appeared, advances in medical technology coupled with a dramatic shift in the composition of the Supreme Court have made abortion and the issues surrounding it even more complex. This new, completely revised edition of Abortion, Medicine, and the Law provides information about this complex subject in a clear, unbiased manner. An anthology of articles written expressly for this volume by authorities in the fields of medicine, law, psychology and government, Abortion, Medicine, and the Law aims to express the most intelligent and cogent views on a notoriously difficult subject.^ Represented among the authors are Nancy Felipe Russo on the psychological aspects of unwanted pregnancy; Etienne-Emile Baulieu, the doctor in France who developed the controversial RU486 abortion pill; William Van Alstyne, who traces the evolution of constitutional law surrounding abortion; B.J. George, who updates (from the third edition) his comprehensive review of the evolving law of abortion; and Clark Forsythe, director of Americans United for Life. Included in the appendixes are the latest report of the Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research Panel and excerpts from the Supreme Court's decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Other topics covered in these essays are: a minor's right to confidentiality, fetal rights, prenatal development, the partner's role in the abortion decision, concepts of wrongful death and wrongful life and much more.^ Designed as a sourcebook to serve anyone seriously interested in researching this controversial subject, Abortion, Medicine, and the Law should be especially welcomed by professionals and specialists in various fields, students, and the general reader who wants the clearest and most current thinking about this complex and divisive issue.