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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Law
From Sex For Please To Sex For Parenthood: How The Law Manufactures Mothers, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
From Sex For Please To Sex For Parenthood: How The Law Manufactures Mothers, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
As soon as sperm enter a woman, so do law and politics, or so the decades-long disputes surrounding abortion suggest. Now, however, renewed debates surrounding contraceptives show legal and political interference with women’s sexual and reproductive autonomy may actually precede the sperm. This Article argues that, increasingly, women even thinking about having sex are defined socially and legally as “mothers.” Via this broad definition of who is a “mother," the State extends its reach into women’s decision-making throughout their reproductive lifetime. This Article argues that the State simultaneously devalues women’s choices to have sex for pleasure, which this Article calls …
Dirty Harry Meets Dirty Diapers: Masculinities, At-Home Fathers, And Making The Law Work For Families, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Dirty Harry Meets Dirty Diapers: Masculinities, At-Home Fathers, And Making The Law Work For Families, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Who is the “man”? Implicit in this question is whether the man at issue demonstrates traits traditionally associated with masculinity: traits such as power, rejecting all things associated with being female, aggression, and being the family breadwinner. If a man, then, abandons paid work and stays at home full time with his children, is he still a “man” as typically defined? The answer to this question bears both on whether families are truly evolving away from the traditional, gendered construct that places men as family breadwinners and women as caregivers and whether work-family balance law meets the needs of these—and …
"Trophy Husbands" And "Opt-Out" Moms, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
"Trophy Husbands" And "Opt-Out" Moms, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Women were not the only ones opting out. Nearly one year before The New York Times in its article “The Opt-Out Revolution” showcased highly educated, upwardly mobile women opting out of paid work for the lure of staying at home, Fortune magazine had already reported that some men, which it coined “trophy husbands,” had been doing the same. “Trophy husbands” were presented as leaving paid work by choice, like their later opt-out counterparts. Opt-out moms and trophy husbands—as described in these two germinal stories—have much in common. While, on the surface, the actions of these mothers and fathers may have …
The More Things Change...: Abortion Politics And The Regulation Of Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
The More Things Change...: Abortion Politics And The Regulation Of Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Abortion and assisted reproductive technology (“ART”) may seem paradoxical in reproductive health: a woman seeks to terminate a pregnancy in the first, while a woman goes through herculean attempts to attain one in the latter. In fact, they share fundamental concerns: women’s health and autonomy. Both include medical procedures, with potential health risks and benefits, and both help a woman choose whether and when to become a mother. Abortion and ART share another commonality: when these issues enter public and political discourse, consideration of women’s health often recedes into the background.
The Invisible Woman: Availability And Culpability In Reproductive Health Jurisprudence, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
The Invisible Woman: Availability And Culpability In Reproductive Health Jurisprudence, Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Beth A. Burkstrand-Reid
Women’s health is widely assumed to be a significant consideration in reproductive rights cases. Court decisions relating to contraception, abortion, and childbirth demonstrate that while this assumption may have historical validity, consideration of women’s health is often truncated in recent reproductive rights jurisprudence. This occurs, in part, through the application of one or both of two recurring tools. First, judges regularly—and often inaccurately—cite the theoretical availability of alternative reproductive health services as proof that women’s health will not suffer even if a law curtailing reproductive rights is upheld. I label this the “availability tool.” Second, when alternatives are not available, …