Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes

By Laurence H. Tribe

Book Overview

On profound questions of birth, death, and human choice that are raised by abortion where opposing sides see no common ground how can the conflict be managed? The abortion debate in the United States today involves all Americans in complex questions of sex and power, historical change, politics, advances in medicine, and competing social values. In this best-selling book, an eminent constitutional authority shows how the nation has struggled with these questions and then sets forth new approaches that reflect both sides' passionately held convictions. The paperback edition includes discussion of the latest court decisions and excerpts from the major cases, including the Supreme Court's landmark June 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393309568
• ISBN13: 9780393309560
• Release Date: September 1992
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A political jouney: One distant planet at a time

Tribe's book, Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes is an excellent read for anyone who highly regards the constitutional and basic right to life. In his book,Tribe devotes equal time to shedding light on both to other cultures to see how they have dealt with this issue the Pro-life and Pro-Choice perspectives towards abortion. Tribe investigates other cultures views and ways of handling abortion as well the evolution of abortion throughout American history. I would strongly recommend this book to those who are interested in political science and the controversial issue of abortion. Whether you are Pro-Choice or Pro-Life, you will find this book highly enlightening and yourself forever changed.

great and almost unbiased

Though Lawrence H. Tribe wrote Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes in 1990, almost fifteen years ago, though the exact same issues surrounding the abortion question are all relevant today. That's how much progress is made when two sides are tugging at one subject with the same fervor - it just doesn't move. Abortion is just as a hot topic today as it was in 1973 when Roe vs. Wade made it legal in the United States. It is the perfect issue for a culture war; it has everything - sex, feminism, death and religion. Tribe does justice to the abortion question. He rotates around his subject from all angles to get the best view possible. From the title alone and then supported by the first three paragraphs, it is evident that Tribe refuses to belittle either side but is determined to show how and why these absolutes clash. These absolutes, or course, are the right to life and the right to liberty, which when they meet at abortion, directly conflict.

Tribe places the abortion question

firmly in historical and legal contexts, making it possible view the question of conflicting rights from a fairly objective point. Whether one is pro- or anti-, this text offers information and supporting arguments for a variety of positions, and looks at the relative merits of each. Religious hysteria aside, if one is looking for a thoughtful text that permits one to form an opinion on the debate, one could do worse than to start with this book.

If You're looking for bias, look elsewhere.

Professor Tribe gives every argument a fair hearing. Every position is respected. I kept waiting for his bias to show, but it never did. Finally, an impartial and well reasoned book on abortion.