Description
Book SynopsisOffers an examination of morally and politically disputed issues of our time: abortion, gay rights, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and legalized gambling. This title covers these issues, looking at the nature of efforts to initiate reforms, to define constituencies, to mobilize resources, to frame debates, and to shape public opinion.
Trade ReviewSin No More is superbly written, moving across each topic with freshness and sensitivity. -- Jonathan Simon,author of Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear
Sin No More represents a brilliant interweaving of the complexities of economic interests, public opinion, court and legislative action. The authors demonstrate the impact of these forces in understanding the recent normalization of gambling and the steady progress in gay rights. They show there are also early signs of achieving death with dignity and freedom for stem cell research, but access to abortion is increasingly in jeopardy. This book is sure to have a major impact on debate, research and policy in these areas. -- John F. Galliher,co-author of The Criminology of Edwin Sutherland
Despite the intense culture wars and the ascendancy of religious and cultural conservatism over the past forty years, Dombrink and Hillyard demonstrate that there has also been a marked increase in tolerance for behavior long thought to be immoral. The process of change has been uneven and episodic, a process the authors term & problematic normalization. But there has been substantial change. The authors’ findings are counter-intuitive. But they are convincing. This is an important book, and it should find a wide audience. -- Malcolm M. Feeley,co-author of Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State
In this elegant and nuanced account, Dombrink and Hillyard explore how the depth of America's commitment to liberty and individualism has co-existed oddly with the forceful anti-libertarianism of the religious right. Their analysis of the bedrock values that America cares most about has important implications beyond the specific issues the authors address, making this an important resource for anyone wishing to understand the evolution of the national conscience, and its influence upon law and politics. -- Roger Magnusson,author of Angels of Death: Exploring the Euthanasia Underground
Worthwhile for the careful, nuanced studies of specific questions that continue to define contemporary US life. * Choice *
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgmentsix 1Changing Moralities: Shifts in American Attitudes and Law in the "Moral Values" Debate 1 2Painless Prosperity: The Spread of Legal Gambling 31 3Abortion: Contestation and Ambivalence in the Long Era of Roe v. Wade 53 4Gay Rights: Beyond Tolerance and Privacy to Equality 93 5Assisted Suicide: The Road to New Rules of Dying 127 6Stem Cells: Framing Battles and the Race for a Cure 186 7Conclusion: To Form a More Purple Union? 225 Notes 257 References 269 Index 311 About the Authors 331
