When Rights Don't Talk: Abortion Law and the Politics of Compromise

Abstract

This Article draws attention to the significance of rights-talk in shaping proper abortion legislation. It engages with ongoing debates regarding the wisdom of Roe v. Wade's judicially imposed, strict rights-based approach to legal abortion. As the issue of abortion remains extremely controversial in Amer­ican politics, it has been argued that the Supreme Court's rights-based rhetoric, coupled with its "undemocratic" judicial imposition of a resolution to the issue, played a central role in triggering the ongoing conflict over abortion. Legal schol­ars often rely on comparative examples in an attempt to argue in favor of legislative and conciliatory policy solutions to the issue of abortion.