After Repeal

The referendum to overturn Ireland’s near-total abortion ban in 2018 stands as one of the most remarkable political events of recent times. The campaign to repeal the 8th amendment succeeded not only in challenging centuries of religious and patriarchal dogma, but in signalling a major transformation in Irish society itself. After Repeal explores both the campaign and the implications of the referendum result for politics, identity and culture today. Bringing together a range of international perspectives, this collection transcends geographical and disciplinary boundaries while exploring themes including activism, artwork, social movements, law, media, democratic institutions, and reproductive technologies. This work looks beyond the Irish context and to the future, offering unique insight into the wider struggle for reproductive justice around the world.

A celebration and analysis of a 35-year long grassroots movement that successfully overturned the ban on abortion in Ireland

After years of divided government, countless Republicans campaigned on a promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Yet when they took control of both chambers of Congress and the White House in 2017—after six years that included more than fifty symbolic votes and innumerable pledges—they failed to repeal the bulk of the law. Pundits were shocked, and observers and political scientists alike were stuck looking for an explanation. What made Obamacare so hard to repeal? And in a larger sense: What explains why some laws are repealed, and yet others endure in spite of considerable efforts? Are repeals different from law-making or do they mirror one another? Why are repeals more likely at some times than others? What theories of legislative behavior and policymaking explain when repeals happen? Congress in Reverse is the first book to attempt to answer these questions. Jordan M. Ragusa and Nathaniel A. Birkhead examine when and why existing statutes are successfully “undone,” arguing that repeals are most common when the parties are united on the issue—which was not the case when it came to Obamacare for the Republican Party—and the majority party wins control of Congress after a long stint in the minority. By shifting focus from the making of laws to their un-making, Congress in Reverse opens up a new arena for studying legislative activity in Congress.

Rose (history, California State U.) analyzes the political mechanisms used to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol. What makes the work unique is his emphasis on the role of women's organizations in both prohibition and repeal, and how the arguments used by women's organizations to promote the Eighteenth Amendment in 1923 were used by opponents to repeal it in 1933--specifically, the idea of "home protection," which was a socialist feminist ideology held by both groups. The author is dedicated to recovering the history of politically conservative women who have been traditionally ignored or dismissed in other historical studies. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The referendum to overturn Ireland's near-total abortion ban in 2018 stands as one of the most remarkable political events of recent times. The campaign to repeal the 8th amendment succeeded not only in challenging centuries of religious and patriarchal dogma, but in signalling a major transformation in Irish society itself. After Repeal explores both the campaign and the implications of the referendum result for politics, identity and culture today. Bringing together a range of international perspectives, this collection transcends geographical and disciplinary boundaries while exploring themes including activism, artwork, social movements, law, media, democratic institutions, and reproductive technologies. This work looks beyond the Irish context and to the future, offering unique insight into the wider struggle for reproductive justice around the world.

This fast-paced book by Yale professors Michael Graetz and Ian Shapiro unravels the following mystery: How is it that the estate tax, which has been on the books continuously since 1916 and is paid by only the wealthiest two percent of Americans, was repealed in 2001 with broad bipartisan support? The mystery is all the more striking because the repeal was not done in the dead of night, like a congressional pay raise. It came at the end of a multiyear populist campaign launched by a few individuals, and was heralded by its supporters as a signal achievement for Americans who are committed to the work ethic and the American Dream. Graetz and Shapiro conducted wide-ranging interviews with the relevant players: members of congress, senators, staffers from the key committees and the Bush White House, civil servants, think tank and interest group representatives, and many others. The result is a unique portrait of American politics as viewed through the lens of the death tax repeal saga. Graetz and Shapiro brilliantly illuminate the repeal campaign's many fascinating and unexpected turns--particularly the odd end result whereby the repeal is slated to self-destruct a decade after its passage. They show that the stakes in this fight are exceedingly high; the very survival of the long standing American consensus on progressive taxation is being threatened. Graetz and Shapiro's rich narrative reads more like a political drama than a conventional work of scholarship. Yet every page is suffused by their intimate knowledge of the history of the tax code, the transformation of American conservatism over the past three decades, and the wider political implications of battles over tax policy.