Sheldon Ekland-Olson

This book explores the seismic shift brought about by the 2022 US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which dramatically changed the constitutional standing of abortion decisions set in place by Roe v. Wade 50 years earlier. The authors describe the history of US Supreme Court’s decision-making around abortion and some of its attendant considerations, including the constitutional right to privacy, moral obligations to protect life, and determinations about when life begins. When Dobbs was decided, legal control over abortion was returned to the states, resulting in wildly divergent access to abortion across the nation. As important, Dobbs raised a host of additional legal and moral questions that will no doubt be the focus of many future courtroom and legislative debates. This text is designed for undergraduate students across a range of academic disciplines. It lays bare the complicated moral dimensions of the competing arguments about abortion and how these considerations have fared in legal decisions, so students can make sense of them for themselves.

This book explores the seismic shift brought about by the 2022 US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which dramatically changed the constitutional standing of abortion decisions set in place by Roe v. Wade 50 years earlier. The authors describe the history of US Supreme Court’s decision-making around abortion and some of its attendant considerations, including the constitutional right to privacy, moral obligations to protect life, and determinations about when life begins.When Dobbs was decided, legal control over abortion was returned to the states, resulting in wildly divergent access to abortion across the nation. As important, Dobbs raised a host of additional legal and moral questions that will no doubt be the focus of many future courtroom and legislative debates.This text is designed for undergraduate students across a range of academic disciplines. It lays bare the complicated moral dimensions of the competing arguments about abortion and how these considerations have fared in legal decisions, so students can make sense of them for themselves.

Mandatory sterilization laws enacted in dozens of states coast-to-coast and approved by the U.S. Supreme Court formed the initial pillar for what became the Final Solution. Following WWII, there was renewed interest in a more inclusive view of social worth and the autonomy of the individual. Social movements were launched to secure broad-based revisions in civil and human rights. This book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in science-based policy, the social construction of social worth, social problems, and social movements. This book is an excerpt from a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/9780415892476/

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides? looks at several of the most contentious issues in many societies. The book asks, whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time, and who makes those decisions? This book explores the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The author sheds light on the social movements and social processes at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions. The third edition contains a new chapter on torture entitled, "Taking Life and Inflicting Suffering."

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides? looks at several of the most contentious issues in many societies. The book asks, whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time, and who makes those decisions? This book explores the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The author sheds light on the social movements and social processes at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions. The third edition contains a new chapter on torture entitled, "Taking Life and Inflicting Suffering."

Science and Sociology is from beginning to end an exploration of what this implies for the social sciences, and sociology in particular. The authors argue that over the last several decades, sociology has become less a science and more a quest for isolated assessments of situations, whether they come from demographic analyses, survey research, or ethnographic studies. Above all else, this book is an attempt to promote and advance scientific sociology, and we write at length specifying the how and why of this objective. With this objective in mind, the question becomes: What would a scientific sociology look like?

Science and Sociology is from beginning to end an exploration of what this implies for the social sciences, and sociology in particular. The authors argue that over the last several decades, sociology has become less a science and more a quest for isolated assessments of situations, whether they come from demographic analyses, survey research, or ethnographic studies. Above all else, this book is an attempt to promote and advance scientific sociology, and we write at length specifying the how and why of this objective. With this objective in mind, the question becomes: What would a scientific sociology look like?

Roe v. Wade came like a bolt from the blue, but support had been building for years. For many, the idea that life in the womb was not fully protected under the Constitution was simply not acceptable. Political campaigns were organized and protests launched, including the bombing of clinics and the killing of abortion providers. Questions about the protection and support of life continued after birth. This book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in the social construction of social worth, social problems, and social movements.This book is part of a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415892476/

Medical advances prolong life. They also sometimes prolong suffering. Should we protect life or alleviate suffering? This dilemma formed the foundation for a powerful right-to-die movement and a counterbalancing concern over an emerging culture of death. What are the qualities of a life worth living? Where are the boundaries of tolerable suffering? This book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in the social construction of social worth, social problems, and social movements.This book is part of a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/9780415892476/

Slavery, lynching and capital punishment were interwoven in the United States and by the mid-twentieth century these connections gave rise to a small but well-focused reform movement. Biased and perfunctory procedures were replaced by prolonged trials and appeals, which some found messy and meaningless; DNA profiling clearly established innocent persons had been sentenced to death. The debate over taking life to protect life continues; this book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in criminal justice, social problems, social inequality, and social movements.This book is an excerpt from a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/9780415892476/

Issues of Life and Death such as abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment and others are among the most contentious in many societies. Whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time and who makes those decisions? Based on the author’s award-winning and hugely popular undergraduate course at the University of Texas, this book explores these questions and the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The Author’s goal is not to advocate any particular moral "high ground" but to shed light on the social movements and social processes which are at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions. Under 200 printed pages, this slim paperback is priced and sized to be easily assigned in a variety of undergraduate courses that touch on the social bases underlying these contested and contentious issues.

Issues of Life and Death such as abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment and others are among the most contentious in many societies. Whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time and who makes those decisions? Based on the author’s award-winning and hugely popular undergraduate course at the University of Texas, this book explores these questions and the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The Author’s goal is not to advocate any particular moral "high ground" but to shed light on the social movements and social processes which are at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions. Under 200 printed pages, this slim paperback is priced and sized to be easily assigned in a variety of undergraduate courses that touch on the social bases underlying these contested and contentious issues.

Justice Under Pressure analyzes the effects of prison crowding on the justice system. The authors focus on dramatic changes in the administration of criminal justice in Texas during the 1980s and the influence of those changes on the three-year survival rates among parolees released between 1984 and 1987. Setting out to identify differences in recidivism and the crime rate as a result of the changes instituted in Texas, the authors report the findings of their comparative "survival analysis" of 4 successive cohorts of parolees, plus a chapter specifically directed at a comparative analysis of an emergency release cohort. The final chapter compares prison construction policies and crime rate trends in Texas and California to highlight the major policy implications of the findings. This book is of particular interest to criminologists, forensic psychologists, forensic psychiatrists, and students in these fields.

Roe v. Wade came like a bolt from the blue, but support had been building for years. For many, the idea that life in the womb was not fully protected under the Constitution was simply not acceptable. Political campaigns were organized and protests launched, including the bombing of clinics and the killing of abortion providers. Questions about the protection and support of life continued after birth. This book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in the social construction of social worth, social problems, and social movements.This book is part of a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415892476/

Medical advances prolong life. They also sometimes prolong suffering. Should we protect life or alleviate suffering? This dilemma formed the foundation for a powerful right-to-die movement and a counterbalancing concern over an emerging culture of death. What are the qualities of a life worth living? Where are the boundaries of tolerable suffering? This book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in the social construction of social worth, social problems, and social movements.This book is part of a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/9780415892476/

Mandatory sterilization laws enacted in dozens of states coast-to-coast and approved by the U.S. Supreme Court formed the initial pillar for what became the Final Solution. Following WWII, there was renewed interest in a more inclusive view of social worth and the autonomy of the individual. Social movements were launched to secure broad-based revisions in civil and human rights. This book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in science-based policy, the social construction of social worth, social problems, and social movements. This book is an excerpt from a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/9780415892476/

Slavery, lynching and capital punishment were interwoven in the United States and by the mid-twentieth century these connections gave rise to a small but well-focused reform movement. Biased and perfunctory procedures were replaced by prolonged trials and appeals, which some found messy and meaningless; DNA profiling clearly established innocent persons had been sentenced to death. The debate over taking life to protect life continues; this book is based on a hugely popular undergraduate course taught at the University of Texas, and is ideal for those interested in criminal justice, social problems, social inequality, and social movements.This book is an excerpt from a larger text, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?, http://www.routledge.com/9780415892476/

In late summer 1923, legal hangings in Texas came to an end, and the electric chair replaced the gallows. Of 520 convicted capital offenders sentenced to die between 1923 and 1972, 361 were actually executed, thus maintaining Texas’ traditional reputation as a staunch supporter of capital punishment.This book is the single most comprehensive examination to date of capital punishment in any one state, drawing on data for legal executions from 1819 to 1990. The authors show persuasively how slavery and the racially biased practice of lynching in Texas led to the institutionalization and public approval of executions skewed according to race, class, and gender, and they also track long-term changes in public opinion up to the present.The stories of the condemned are masterfully interwoven with fact and interpretation to provide compelling reading for scholars of law, criminal justice, race relations, history, and sociology, as well as partisans on both sides of the debate.