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2. Are Battered Women Bad Mothers? Rethinking The Termination Of Abused Women’S Parental Rights For Failure To Protect., Thomas D. Lyon
2. Are Battered Women Bad Mothers? Rethinking The Termination Of Abused Women’S Parental Rights For Failure To Protect., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
It is often stated that intervention on behalf of abused and neglected children is intended to protect the child rather than punish the parent. This stance justifies a no-fault approach to child protection: If a child is being harmed and removal from the parents' custody is the only means to alleviate the harm, removal is justified. If reunification fails, regardless of whether the parent will not or cannot change, the termination of parental rights is justified. It matters not whether the parents acted to harm the child or failed to act to prevent harm. Nor does it matter whether the …