During the twenty-year period from 1960 to 1980, the legal status of American women changed dramatically. Federal policy shifted from reinforcing social and economic discrimination to providing remedies for those who experienced discrimination. While Congress was active in initiating many of these changes, much of the credit for their implementation must go to the federal courts, especially the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1980s, however, the federal courts including the Supreme Court became less receptive to the feminist agenda. This situation has forced women's groups to appeal to Congress and state legislatures to reverse or limit the damage created by unfavorable court decisions. The case histories of Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 and legalized abortion illustrate this shift in forum.
2. Corning Glass v. Brennan, 94 S.Ct. 2223 (1974); Hodgson v. Miller Brewing, 457 F.2d 221 (7th Cir. 1972).
3.
3. Phillips v. Martin-Marietta Corp., 91 S.Ct. 496 (1971).
4.
4. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(e).
5.
5. Diaz v. Pan Am World Airways, Inc., 422 F.2d 385 (5th Cir. 1969).
6.
6. Weeks v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co., 408 F.2d 228 (5th Cir. 1969); Cheatwood v. South Central Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co., 303 F. Supp. 754 (D. Ala. 1969).
7.
7. Dothard v. Rawlinson, 97 S.Ct. 2720 (1977).
8.
8. Backus v. Baptist Medical Center, 510 F. Supp. 1191 (E. D. Ark. 1981); Fesel v. Masonic Home of Delaware, Inc., 447 F. Supp. 1346 (D. Del. 1978).
9.
9. Cannon v. University of Chicago, 99 S.Ct. 1946 (1979).
10.
10. 92 S.Ct. 251 (1971).
11.
11. Frontiero v. Richardson, 93 S.Ct. 1764 (1973).
12.
12. 97 S.Ct. 451 (1976).
13.
13. Griswold v. Connecticut, 85 S.Ct. 1678 (1965).
14.
14. 92 S.Ct. 1029 (1972).
15.
15. 93 S.Ct. 705 (1973).
16.
16. Karen O'Connor and Lee Epstein, “Beyond Legislative Lobbying: Women's Rights Groups and the Supreme Court,”Judicature, 67(3):134-143 (Sept. 1983).
17.
17. 104 S.Ct. 1211 (1984).
18.
18. 109 S.Ct. 3040 (1989).
19.
19. 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a).
20.
20. Grove City College, p. 1236.
21.
21. Glen Halva-Neubauer, “The Reversal of Roe: A View from the States” (Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, GA, 31 Aug.-3 Sept. 1989).
22.
22. Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danthforth, 96 S.Ct. 2831 (1976).
23.
23. City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 103 S.Ct. 2481 (1983).
24.
24. Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 106 S.Ct. 2169 (1986).
25.
25. Bellotti v. Baird, 99 S.Ct. 3035 (1979).
26.
26. Maher v. Roe, 97 S.Ct. 2376 (1977).
27.
27. Harris v. McRae, 100 S.Ct. 2671 (1980).
28.
28. Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Kansas City, MO v. Ashcroft, 103 S.Ct. 2517 (1983). Thirty-two states have passed parental-involvement statutes that require either parental notification or parental consent before a minor's abortion. In July 1990 the Supreme Court upheld parental-notification laws from Minnesota and Ohio: Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 58 L.W. 498; Hodgson v. Minnesota, 59 L.W. 4957. But it struck down a portion of the Minnesota law that required notification of both parents but did not provide a judicial-bypass procedure.
29.
29. Diane Colasanto and Linda DeStefano, “Pro-Choice Position Stirs Increased Activism in Abortion Battle,”Gallup Report, Oct. 1989, pp. 16-20.
30.
30. “Limits on Abortion Seem Less Likely,”New York Times, 29 Sept. 1989.
31.
31. Everett Carll Ladd, “The Partisan Consequences: Trouble for Both Parties,”Public Opinion, May-June 1989, pp. 3-8.
32.
32. Keith T. Poole and L. Harmon Zeigler, Women, Public Opinion and Politics: The Changing Attitudes of American Women (New York: Longman, 1985).
33.
33. Anne N. Costain, “Representing Women: The Transition from Social Movement to Interest Group,” in Women, Power, and Policy: Toward the Year 2000, ed. Ellen Boneparth and Emily Stoper (Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Books, 1988), pp. 26-47.
34.
34. Karen O'Connor, Women's Organizations' Use of the Courts (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1980).
35.
35. David M. O'Brien, “The Reagan Judges: His Most Enduring Legacy,” in The Reagan Legacy: Promise and Performance, ed. Charles O. Jones (Chatham, NJ: Chatham House, 1988), pp. 60-101.
