Is There Room For Norms In Our Legal System?

8 Pages 2029 Words

several approaches to this problem. One approach that stands out is the Asymmetrical approach that says, “Differences should not be ignored. Society much take into account these differences and ensure that women are not punished for them.” Before this movement the idea that women could have special privileges was unheard of. It in fact wasn’t a “norm” until women began to demand their voices be heard in society and in the eyes of the courts. By making the word “feminism” a household one, the idea of women’s rights suddenly became a “norm”. By turning their arguments for equality into “norms” women caught the attention of the courts. Suddenly a plethora of cases involving women’s rights were being heard and judged in favor of their cause. Some of these cases include Griswald v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Casey v. Planned Parenthood. These monumental cases did not appear out of thin air. They were a result of the slowly growing “norm” of women having the right to make decisions about their bodies. Not so far down the road came the idea that women should be able to have maternal leave and not have to fear that they will not have a job to come back to. Once the amount of women in the workforce grew to an amount that could not be ignored a new “norm” emerged. Had the idea of working mothers not been a “norm”, the fight for pregnant women would not have made so many advances. Wendy Williams’ article “Equality’s Riddle: Pregnancy and The Equal Treatment/Special Treatment Debate” speaks of...