ABORTION AND UNDUE BURDENS - JUSTICE OCONNOR,SANDRA,DAY AND JUDICIAL DECISION-MAKING

This essay argues that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's moral reasoning c oncerning abortion cases represents a female-associated jurisprudence. A female-associated jurisprudence negotiates a moral ground that valu es the rights of individuals as interdependent members of communities. From the recognition of the need to balance such interests emerges a jurisprudence that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all parties an d all competing interests in a dispute. In articulating the ''undue bu rden'' standard for evaluating abortion cases, Justice O'Connor has id entified an approach to legal decision-making that accommodates differ ence, contextualizes the law, and resists oversimplification of comple x issues.