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Full-Text Articles in Family Law
Adoption Ouroboros: Repeating The Cycle Of Adoption As Rescue, Malinda L. Seymore
Adoption Ouroboros: Repeating The Cycle Of Adoption As Rescue, Malinda L. Seymore
Faculty Scholarship
Ouroboros—the circular symbol of the snake eating its tail; an endless cycle. As the U.S. recently withdrew from Afghanistan in chaos and Russia invaded Ukraine, the attention of Americans turned, as it frequently has in times of international conflict, to the plight of children in need of rescue. For many Americans, rescue is synonymous with adoption. The history of international adoption began with rescues following America’s wars in Europe and Asia and continues today through other violent upheavals. International adoption is an ouroboros, repeating the pattern of adoption as a response to humanitarian crises. But as human and charitable as …
Originalism: Erasing Women From The Body Politic, Malinda L. Seymore
Originalism: Erasing Women From The Body Politic, Malinda L. Seymore
Faculty Scholarship
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, the Court relied on originalism to excise women from the Constitution. Originalism is purposefully backward-looking. With cherry-picked history, the Court created a future that looks to the past: a past where unwed pregnancy is shameful and can be redeemed only by secret adoption. Yet the case has revealed originalism as a flawed method, harmed the legitimacy of the Court, and energized those supporting abortion rights.
Grasping Fatherhood In Abortion And Adoption, Malinda L. Seymore
Grasping Fatherhood In Abortion And Adoption, Malinda L. Seymore
Faculty Scholarship
Biology makes a mother, but it does not make a father. While a mother is a legal parent by reason of her biological relationship with her child, a father is not a legal parent unless he takes affirmative steps to grasp fatherhood. Being married to the mother at the time of conception or at the time of birth is one of those affirmative steps. But if he is not married to the mother, he must do far more before he will be legally recognized as a father. Biology is often presented as a sufficient reason for this dichotomy--it is easy …