Barnes, Geoffrey K.

English

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Case Western Reserve Law ReviewVolume 23 | Issue 41972Symposium: Abortion and the Law - Editor'sPrefaceGeoffrey K. BarnesFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/caselrevPart of the Law CommonsThis Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Journals at Case Western Reserve University School of Law ScholarlyCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Case Western Reserve Law Review by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve UniversitySchool of Law Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationGeoffrey K. Barnes, Symposium: Abortion and the Law - Editor's Preface, 23 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 705 (1972)Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/caselrev/vol23/iss4/31972)Symposium: Abortion and the LawEditor's PrefaceIn 1965, when the movement to liberalize the nation's abortionlaws had yet to achieve its first tangible results, the Western ReserveLaw Review published a symposium dealing with abortion and thelaw.1 That symposium, in its entirety, was published subsequentlyby the Western Reserve University Press.' Together, this book andthe original symposium have proved helpful to a great number ofpeople involved in abortion-related issues. Today, some 7 yearsafter the original publication, the level of public concern with theseissues is as great as it has ever been. For this reason, the Law Re-view - again in collaboration with the University Press ' - is de-voting most of the present issue to a second symposium on the prob-lems of abortion and the law.The need for a completely new treatment of the subject matteris apparent. The original effort, which is still the most compre-hensive treatment available, is largely dated. Changes in statutorylaw have been many, and judicial decisions, essentially nonexistentin 1965, are now quite numerous. Moreover, there has been acontinual emergence of entirely novel problems, problems that wereeither unforeseeable in 1965 or too remote then to warrant atten-tion. The operation of abortion counselling services and referralagencies, for example, has posed practical, ethical, and legal prob-lems that were of little or no consequence a short time ago. Yetthe most radical changes have probably arisen from medicine. Thepossibility of using fetal tissue for medical purposes has made thefetus a potentially valuable byproduct of legal abortions, but hasalso raised a host of problems as sensitive as the original abortionquestion itself.4 And the development of various drugs may com-1 This symposium appeared in volume 17 of the Western Reserve Law Review (thepredecessor of the Case Western Reserve Law Review).2 ABORTION AND THE LAw (D. Smith ed. 1967).3 Later this year, the Case Western Reserve University Press will publish the sec-ond edition of Abortion and the Law. The book will include all the articles appear-ing in the present symposium and some seven or eight other ones as well.4 Two uses for fetal tissue are reported in TME, Feb. 28, 1972, at 54. The first isCASE WESTERN RESERVE LAW REVIEW [Vol. 23:705pletely transform the abortion issue. If a woman is capable ofchemically inducing any period that is more than a few days late,she can achieve a general regulation of her menstrual cycle. Butat the same time, unbeknown even to herself, her monthly regula-tory effort may constitute an abortion rather than the mere induce-ment of the belated period.5Partly because of these complex new problems, the public's in-terest in abortion is certain to remain intense for the foreseeable fu-ture. If the United States Supreme Court eventually upholds mostof the conservative abortion laws,6 public debate would continueundaunted as legislative reform and litigation based on state consti-tutions became the primary points of attention. And even if theCourt broadly condemns statutory restrictions on a woman's accessto abortion, many of the legal and practical issues would remainof concern. A wide array of subsidiary issues would have to be re-solved in creating new legislative schemes, including such questionsas whether pregnant minors would be obliged to obtain parentalconsent prior to abortion, whether abortion referral agencies wouldbe permitted to operate, and where and from whom abortions couldbe obtained. Moreover, one could very likely expect a movementfor a constitutional amendment to overturn any very liberal SupremeCourt decision, which would, of course, keep the issues very muchalive for some time.It is with this belief that abortion will continue in importance tolawyers, legislators, and the public alike that the Law Review andthe University Press have undertaken the present effort. B. JamesGeorge, Jr., one of only two of the current authors who were alsorepresented in the original symposium, provides a comprehensivesummary of every significant aspect of the statutory and decisionallaw governing abortions. His article should be helpful for anyoneinterested in the topic, from the layman to the legislator. AlanGuttmacher, a nestor of the abortion reform movement, relates histhe transplantation of the thymus gland from an aborted fetus to a child born without athymus. Since the transplanted thymus must come from a fetus of from 14 to 20weeks old, one might wonder if doctors will begin to encourage woman to delay theirabortions. The other involved the use of fetal tissue to make vaccine.5 See Guttmacher, The Genesis of Liberalized Abortion it; New York: A PersonalInsight, 23 CASE W. RES. L. REV. 756, 773 (1972).6 Abortion cases have been pending on the Supreme Court docket for some time,and a decision is expected during the next term. These cases are Doe v. Bolton, andRoe v. Wade, jurisdiction postponed, 402 U.S. 941 (1971) (Nos. 971, 808, 1970 Term;renumbered Nos. 70-40, 70-18, 1971 Term, respectively). Both of these cases will beredocketed in the 1972 Term since they have just been ordered for reargument. 40U.S.LW. 3617 (U.S. June 27, 1972).SYMPOSIUM: ABORTION AND THE LAWexperiences over the years and explains why he developed the lib-eral attitudes he presently maintains. He discusses the New Yorkexperience with its repeal law, from preenactment to the present,and concludes with a summary of the medical advances that haveoccurred in relation to the inducement of abortions. Harriet Pilpeland Ruth Zuckerman coauthor an article that analyzes the subsid-iary problems of a minor's right to an abortion. Gerald Messer-man then discusses the many legal questions encountered by theabortion counselling services and referral agencies, which so farhave received virtually no attention in the legal literature and onlyscant attention in the courts. Richard Schwartz then presents acomplete analysis of the psychiatric implications of permitting abor-tion on request. His primary thesis is that the potential for improv-ing the nation's overall mental health picture is, by itself, adequatejustification for allowing abortion on request. And finally, Ken-neth Niswander, the other author also represented in the 1965 sym-posium, discusses the contemporary indications for therapeutic abor-tions and the current legal abortion practices in the United States.1972]

Symposium: Abortion and the Law - Editor\u27s Preface

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Symposium: Abortion and the Law - Editor\u27s Preface

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