"Finally, the abortion case resembles that of Bailey in that Radin’s double bind arises again. To some extent, inalienability provides a real as well as a symbolic remedy for women, because at the same time that the state refuses to enforce the “agreement” to accept the risk of pregnancy, it effectively alters the initial distribution of entitlements. When abortion is illegal, a woman is entitled to sex only if she is also willing to accept the risk of coerced motherhood; the right to abortion gives her both the right to refrain from procreation and the right to sex, so that she no longer has to trade one for the other. But the double bind persists in another form. All the pressures that force women to submit to unprotected sex remain in place. In the face of such pressures, the prospect of irreversible pregnancy and its legal consequences for men did give women some power in their sexual negotiations. Readily available abortion deprives them of this power, thereby rendering them more vulnerable to sexual exploitation.119 Thus, just as Bailey alone was insufficient to guarantee blacks’ freedom and equality, Roe alone is insufficient to guarantee the freedom and equality of women. Without more, both decisions harmed some of those they purported to help. They were, at best, a step in the right direction.120"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
pp.507-508
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the
1424 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Roe v. Wade →
Related Quotes
"Harry Blackmun questioned Weddington again on the issue of fetal personhood, as did Potter Stewart. They wanted her t…"
"In 1938, seven Justices heard a constitutional challenge to a federal ban on shipping adulterated milk in interstate …"
"The Court has simultaneously transformed judicially created rights like the right to abortion into preferred constitu…"
"Beyond these paltry authorities, the Court adds only the argument that we should not “encourage a kitchen-sink approa…"
"JUSTICE BREYER, with whom JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting. The procedural posture of this case l…"
"JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE BREYER and JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting. The Court’s order is stunning. Presen…"
"By the time that Michael Taylor sent out his communiqué, pro-life lawyers had been preparing legal arguments in Roe a…"
"Lawyers for the states of both Georgia and Texas argued that abortion restrictions were appropriate because the state…"
"Pro-life lawyers had complained before about the poor quality of state attorney’s attempts to defend restrictive abor…"
"Ellen McCormack’s Long Island-based organization, Women for the Unborn, which now had 2,000 members, submitted a brie…"