Summary

Chapter 8 begins with the Supreme Court Case of Bush v. Gore, in which a slight majority of the Supreme Court voted to halt Florida’s vote recount, thereby effectively making George W. Bush the next President. Ginsburg wrote a dissenting opinion, which was “calm and technical,” but which pointed out the utter hypocrisy and partisanship of the five conservative Justices on the majority. The Supreme Court became more heavily conservative during the George W. Bush Administration. Also, when Justice O’Connor retired, Ginsburg became the only woman on the Court. Around the same time, to Ginsburg’s dismay, the cases of Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Gonzales v. Carhart enabled the federal and state governments to make abortion less accessible. The book then includes an excerpt from Ginsburg’s dissenting opinion in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart. The book then briefly summarizes the...