Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning [Hardcover]

Justin Buckley Dyer provides the first book-length scholarly treatment of the parallels between slavery and abortion in American constitutional development.One particularly contentious dispute in American constitutional politics concerns the relevance of American slavery to the ongoing abortion debates. In Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning, Justin Buckley Dyer unpacks this controversy, dispelling many long held myths along the way. Dyer takes the reader on a trip through two centuries of American history, law, and political philosophy to show how slavery and abortion are historically, philosophically, and legally intertwined in the United States. No serious participant in the abortion debates can afford to ignore this fascinating, provocative, and wide-ranging study.One particularly contentious dispute in American constitutional politics concerns the relevance of American slavery to the ongoing abortion debates. In Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning, Justin Buckley Dyer unpacks this controversy, dispelling many long held myths along the way. Dyer takes the reader on a trip through two centuries of American history, law, and political philosophy to show how slavery and abortion are historically, philosophically, and legally intertwined in the United States. No serious participant in the abortion debates can afford to ignore this fascinating, provocative, and wide-ranging study.For the past forty years, prominent pro-life activists, judges, and politicians have invoked the history and legacy of American slavery to elucidate aspects of contemporary abortion politics. As is often the case, many of these popular analogies have been imprecise, underdeveloped, and historically simplistic. In Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning, Justin Buckley Dyer provides the first book-length scholarly treatment of the parallels between slavery and abortion in American constitutional development. In this faslC1