Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws

For some legal philosophers, if a law is procedurally correct, enacted in ways constitutionally recognised and agreed upon, then the content is of no significance. It is a “good” law, no matter what it does or justifies. The question of one's consent or opposition to any particular law is extraneous...

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Autore principale: Hassenstab, Christine M.
Natura: Online
Lingua:inglese
Pubblicazione: De Gruyter 2021
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Accesso online:16873
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author Hassenstab, Christine M.
author_browse Hassenstab, Christine M.
author_facet Hassenstab, Christine M.
author_sort Hassenstab, Christine M.
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description For some legal philosophers, if a law is procedurally correct, enacted in ways constitutionally recognised and agreed upon, then the content is of no significance. It is a “good” law, no matter what it does or justifies. The question of one's consent or opposition to any particular law is extraneous to the legality and is regarded merely as a political matter. The assumption is that a certain procedure and logic in law creation has taken place, and the law can be altered by a change in political leaders in a subsequent political election. However, this view and assumption obscure an uncomfortable fact. Some laws can be “bad” or “immoral.” Critical legal theory suggests that there are often two (or more) sets of laws, and it makes no difference if Lady Justice is blindfolded or not. Laws change in the process of history, in part, because societal norms change. As common understandings of morality evolve, law adapts itself to the new moral environment. Norms can change slowly or rapidly, even within a lifetime. This book examines both social and legal norms and theories of how they are both created. Christine M. Hassenstab investigates how laws on sterilization, birth control and abortion were created, by focusing on the act of legislation; how the law was driven by scientific and social norms during the first and closing decades of the 20th century in the USA (especially in the state of Indiana) and Norway. The primary focus of Body Law and the Body of Law is the sociology of law and how and why the law changes. The author develops the notion “body law” for reproductive policies and uses sociological theories to untie the various strands of social history and legal history and looks at two cases of legislation. The book is divided in to two main sections. The first examines eugenic laws in the USA state of Indiana and Norway during the first decades of 20th century. The second part is about the birth control and abortion debate in both countries throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. Christine M. Hassenstab is a lawyer and sociologist. She served as a criminal defense attorney for 15 years (1987—2001) in Seattle, Washington. Currently, she is an adviser in the EU Grants Office at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-423412023-12-20T16:24:57Z Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws Hassenstab, Christine M. K1-7720 E151-889 birth control abortion politics Indiana Norway sterilization sociology of law social norms eugenics bic Book Industry Communication::L Law For some legal philosophers, if a law is procedurally correct, enacted in ways constitutionally recognised and agreed upon, then the content is of no significance. It is a “good” law, no matter what it does or justifies. The question of one's consent or opposition to any particular law is extraneous to the legality and is regarded merely as a political matter. The assumption is that a certain procedure and logic in law creation has taken place, and the law can be altered by a change in political leaders in a subsequent political election. However, this view and assumption obscure an uncomfortable fact. Some laws can be “bad” or “immoral.” Critical legal theory suggests that there are often two (or more) sets of laws, and it makes no difference if Lady Justice is blindfolded or not. Laws change in the process of history, in part, because societal norms change. As common understandings of morality evolve, law adapts itself to the new moral environment. Norms can change slowly or rapidly, even within a lifetime. This book examines both social and legal norms and theories of how they are both created. Christine M. Hassenstab investigates how laws on sterilization, birth control and abortion were created, by focusing on the act of legislation; how the law was driven by scientific and social norms during the first and closing decades of the 20th century in the USA (especially in the state of Indiana) and Norway. The primary focus of Body Law and the Body of Law is the sociology of law and how and why the law changes. The author develops the notion “body law” for reproductive policies and uses sociological theories to untie the various strands of social history and legal history and looks at two cases of legislation. The book is divided in to two main sections. The first examines eugenic laws in the USA state of Indiana and Norway during the first decades of 20th century. The second part is about the birth control and abortion debate in both countries throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. Christine M. Hassenstab is a lawyer and sociologist. She served as a criminal defense attorney for 15 years (1987—2001) in Seattle, Washington. Currently, she is an adviser in the EU Grants Office at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. 2021-02-11T09:13:26Z 2021-02-11T09:13:26Z 2015-04-13 10:42:11 2015 book 16873 9783110441215 9783110412772 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/42341 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://doi.org/10.2478/9783110412772 De Gruyter 10.2478/9783110412772 10.2478/9783110412772 af2fbfcc-ee87-43d8-a035-afb9d7eef6a5 9783110441215 9783110412772 362 open access
spellingShingle K1-7720
E151-889
birth control
abortion politics
Indiana
Norway
sterilization
sociology of law
social norms
eugenics
bic Book Industry Communication::L Law
Hassenstab, Christine M.
Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws
title Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws
title_full Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws
title_fullStr Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws
title_full_unstemmed Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws
title_short Body Law and the Body of Law. A Comparative Study of Social Norm Inclusion in Norwegian and American Laws
title_sort body law and the body of law a comparative study of social norm inclusion in norwegian and american laws
topic K1-7720
E151-889
birth control
abortion politics
Indiana
Norway
sterilization
sociology of law
social norms
eugenics
bic Book Industry Communication::L Law
topic_facet K1-7720
E151-889
birth control
abortion politics
Indiana
Norway
sterilization
sociology of law
social norms
eugenics
bic Book Industry Communication::L Law
url 16873
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