Laws written by men to protect women deserve scrutiny, Supreme Court told.

'History holds a lesson for the Supreme Court, the brief warns: Be skeptical of laws protecting women that are written by men.

The nation’s past is littered with such statutes, say the historians who filed the friend-of-the-court brief, and the motives were suspect. . .

The brief is filed by professors from across the country in the court’s upcoming abortion case, Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt. It urges the justices to examine the intent of Texas legislators who say they approved new restrictions on abortion providers as health safeguards for the women undergoing the procedure.

[Supreme Court accepts major abortion restrictions case]

“Any new law that claims to protect women’s health and safety should be scrutinized carefully to assess whether its ostensibly protective function actually serves to deny liberty and equal citizenship to women,” said the brief filed by 16 historians, 13 of whom are women.' >>>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/laws-written-by-men-to-protect-women-deserve-scrutiny-supreme-court-told/2016/02/07/9598d97a-cc38-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html?