Major
Theology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2024
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
When judges cite Christian texts in judicial opinions, especially those decisions regarding women’s reproductive rights, they create laws with Christian-influenced ideals in which misogynistic interpretations of the Bible, particularly Genesis, are treated as canonical. For example, LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, where the Alabama's supreme court ruled in an 8-1 decision that the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act includes and protects frozen embryos. The Chief Justice’s concurring opinion cites Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and the Old Testament without the theological knowledge to do this well. The far-reaching ripple effects of the decision are numerous and still developing.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Lauren O'Connell
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Divine Precedent: Genesis and the Shaping of Modern American Law
When judges cite Christian texts in judicial opinions, especially those decisions regarding women’s reproductive rights, they create laws with Christian-influenced ideals in which misogynistic interpretations of the Bible, particularly Genesis, are treated as canonical. For example, LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, where the Alabama's supreme court ruled in an 8-1 decision that the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act includes and protects frozen embryos. The Chief Justice’s concurring opinion cites Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and the Old Testament without the theological knowledge to do this well. The far-reaching ripple effects of the decision are numerous and still developing.