The Human Body on Trial
A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents
Published on 5. November 2002
Book
Hardback
325 pages
978-1-57607-349-0 (ISBN)
Description
A thorough exploration of an individual's right to bodily autonomy versus the state's power to regulate and control the bodies of its citizens.
The Human Body on Trial asks the basic question: Who's in charge of your body-you or the authorities? Four narrative chapters examine key constitutional questions addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past century concerning the power of the state to regulate the human body, placing the issues in historical context and examining the contemporary legal and medical knowledge that informed each decision.
The book focuses on individual cases, such as Jacobson v. Massachusetts (compulsory vaccination), Buck v. Bell (forced sterilization), and Roe v. Wade (abortion), and discusses such controversial issues as AIDS testing and physician-assisted suicide. A special reference section includes court decisions and other primary documents.
Timeline of major events in the evolution of the legal right of individual autonomy from the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 to the 2002 ruling in State of Oregon and Peter Rasmussen, et al. v. John Ashcroft regarding implementing Oregon's Death with Dignity Act
Excerpts from key legal documents from the Roe v. Wade (1973) decision to the lesser known Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942) ruling by the Supreme Court overturning the mandated sterilization for three-time offenders convicted of certain felonies
The Human Body on Trial asks the basic question: Who's in charge of your body-you or the authorities? Four narrative chapters examine key constitutional questions addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past century concerning the power of the state to regulate the human body, placing the issues in historical context and examining the contemporary legal and medical knowledge that informed each decision.
The book focuses on individual cases, such as Jacobson v. Massachusetts (compulsory vaccination), Buck v. Bell (forced sterilization), and Roe v. Wade (abortion), and discusses such controversial issues as AIDS testing and physician-assisted suicide. A special reference section includes court decisions and other primary documents.
Timeline of major events in the evolution of the legal right of individual autonomy from the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 to the 2002 ruling in State of Oregon and Peter Rasmussen, et al. v. John Ashcroft regarding implementing Oregon's Death with Dignity Act
Excerpts from key legal documents from the Roe v. Wade (1973) decision to the lesser known Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942) ruling by the Supreme Court overturning the mandated sterilization for three-time offenders convicted of certain felonies
Reviews / Votes
"This work is highly recommended, especially for readers in need of an objective review of the history of ideas on the controversial issues relating to the control of one's body." - American Reference Books AnnualMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
565 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57607-349-0 (9781576073490)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2002
ABC-CLIO Ltd
€73.99
Available for download
Person
Lynne Curry is assistant professor of history at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL.
Content
Constitutionalizing the body;The human body as a form of property; The regulatory state; The right to privacy; A confusing legacy; Historical background; Medicalizing the body; The germ theory; Eugenics; The crusade for birth control; A revival of rights; Cases; Compulsory vaccination - private rights versus police powers; Mandatory sterilization - eugenics on trial; Contraception, abortion, and the right to die: privacy on trial; Legacy and impact; End-of-life issues on trial; Biotechnology on trial; Documents; 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution; "Anti-vaccination circular, distributed during the epidemic of small pox in Boston, 1901"; Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905); Zucht V. King (1922); Buck v. Bell (1927); Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942); Griswold v. Connecticut (1965); Roe et al. v. Wade (1973); Webster, et al. v. Reproductive health services, et al. (1989); Planned parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, et al. v. Casey (1992); Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Public Health (1990); Washington, et al., petitioners v. Harold Glucksberg, et al. (1997); Oregon's Death with Dignity Act; Key people, laws, and concepts.