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Full-Text Articles in Law

Constrained Choice: Mothers, The State, And Domestic Violence, Rona Kaufman Kitchen Dec 2014

Constrained Choice: Mothers, The State, And Domestic Violence, Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Mothers who are the victims of domestic violence face unique challenges in their quest for safety. The legal response to domestic violence requires that mothers respond to abuse in specific state-sanctioned manners. However, when mothers respond accordingly, such as by reporting abuse and leaving the abusive relationship, their safety and the safety of their children is not guaranteed. Moreover, by responding in state-sanctioned manners, mothers risk a host of negative consequences including increased threat to their immediate and long-term safety, the loss of their children, undesired financial, health, and social consequences, and criminal prosecution. On the other hand, when mothers …


Holistic Pregnancy: Rejecting The Theory Of The Adversarial Mother, Rona Kaufman Kitchen Dec 2014

Holistic Pregnancy: Rejecting The Theory Of The Adversarial Mother, Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Rona Kaufman Kitchen

In its zealous effort to protect the lives and health of unborn children, the law frequently views the expecting mother with suspicion. In its most extreme form, the law regards the potential mother as a potential murderess. This perspective does not reflect the nature of pregnancy, it undermines the autonomy of loving mothers, and it is detrimental to children. Regardless of whether there is any conflict between mother and fetus, the State presumes the mother to be a threat to her fetus and subjugates her rights as a result. The State interferes with the mother’s autonomy, bodily integrity, parental rights, …


Eradicating The Mothering Effect: Women As Workers And Mothers, Successfully And Simultaneously, Rona Kaufman Kitchen Dec 2011

Eradicating The Mothering Effect: Women As Workers And Mothers, Successfully And Simultaneously, Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Rona Kaufman Kitchen

In the United States, the need for federal legislation to address work-family conflict has never been more pressing. Mothers are the primary caretakers of their children even while they participate in the paid market in record numbers. However, because the workplace is designed to accommodate the needs of the traditional male, mothers often face distinct challenges when combining their paid market and care work. For example, middle-class families are working longer hours than ever before, over 70 percent of mothers participate in the paid labor market, and mothers earn 30 percent less than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, two-thirds of mothers …


Off-Balance: Obama And The Work-Family Agenda, Rona Kaufman Kitchen Dec 2011

Off-Balance: Obama And The Work-Family Agenda, Rona Kaufman Kitchen

Rona Kaufman Kitchen

During his bid for the Presidency, Barack Obama specifically identified work-family conflict as a key issue that would receive attention and reform if he became President. After entering the White House, President Obama continued to consistently articulate that work-family balance issues were a priority for America's families and for his administration. In May 2011, the President reaffirmed his dedication to the issues that face working parents, stating that his administration was, "striving to help mothers in the workplace by enforcing equal pay laws and addressing workplace flexibility as families balance the demands of work, child and elder care, and education." …