Family Law Commons^™

Child Welfare And Covid-19: An Unexpected Opportunity For Systemic Change, Jane M. Spinak

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic has already wrecked greater havoc in poor neighborhoods of color, where pre-existing conditions exacerbate the disease’s spread. Crowded housing and homelessness, less access to health care and insurance, and underlying health conditions are all factors that worsen the chances of remaining healthy.Workers desperate for income continue to work without sufficient protective measures, moving in and out of these neighborhoods, putting themselves and their families at risk. During periods of greater disruption, tensions are heightened and violence more prevalent. Already some experts are warning of an onslaught of child maltreatment cases, citing earlier examples of spikes in foster …

Let She Who Has The Womb Speak: Regulating The Use Of Human Oocyte Cryopreservation To The Detriment Of Older Women, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article is divided into three parts. Part I examines the arguments in favor of banning human oocyte cryopreservation. Part II explores the reasons some opponents of human oocyte cryopreservation might give to support restrictions on the use of frozen oocytes. Part III analyzes the possible ethical and legal challenges that may arise in the event that the government seeks to ban the use of frozen oocytes or restrict the use of frozen oocytes based solely on the age of the potential mother.

The Promise And Failures Of Children's Medicaid And The Role Of Medical-Legal Partnerships As Monitors And Advocates, Kate Mitchell

Faculty Publications & Other Works

For decades we have known that access to health care and early and preventive diagnosis and treatment can dramatically alter the course of a child’s life. Because of this knowledge, immediately after Congress enacted Medicaid, it created the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment, or EPSDT, program for children. EPSDT requires broad holistic and preventive care to correct or ameliorate health defects identified in Medicaid-eligible children. This coverage currently extends to 2 out of 5 children and 48 percent of children with special health care needs. Because of the broad parameters of coverage mandated by EPSDT, eligible children should …

Fetal Equality, Shaakirrah R. Sanders

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

I join Carliss Chatman’s call to fully consider the equal protection implications of the conception theory and raise an additional right to which a fetus may be entitled as a matter of equal protection: health care, which implicates state laws that provide civil and criminal exemptions to parents who choose religious healing instead of medical care for their children and minor dependents. The evidence of harm to children from religious healing is well documented. Yet, currently, approximately forty-three U.S. states and the District of Columbia have some type of exemption to protect religious healing parents in civil and criminal cases. …

The New "Essential": Rethinking Social Goods In The Age Of Covid-19, Olatunde C.A. Johnson

Faculty Scholarship

The Covid-19 crisis has laid bare the fragility of social insurance systems in the United States and the lack of income security and basic benefits for many workers and residents. The United States has long had weaker protections for workers compared to other liberal democracies racial and economic disparities among those most affected by these dislocations (analyses are hampered by a paucity of demographic data). Those who were socially and economically vulnerable before the pandemic (for example due to homelessness, immigration status, or incarceration) are likely to suffer the most harm. Changes in workplace conditions as a result of the …

The Invisible Prison: Pathways And Prevention, Margaret F. Brinig, Marsha Garrison

Journal Articles

In this paper, we propose a new strategy for curbing crime and delinquency and demonstrate the inadequacy of current reform efforts. Our analysis relies on our own, original research involving a large, multi-generational sample of unmarried fathers from a rust-belt region of the United States as well as the conclusions of earlier researchers.

Our own research data are unusual in that they are holistic and multigenerational: The Court-based record system we utilized for data collection provided detailed information on child maltreatment, juvenile status and delinquency charges, child support, parenting time, orders of protection, and residential mobility for focal children (the …

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

Parens Patriae And Parental Rights: When Should The State Override Parental Medical Decisions?, Elchanan G. Stern

Journal of Law and Health

Alfie Evans was a terminally ill British child whose parents, clinging to hope, were desperately trying to save his life. Hospital authorities disagreed and petitioned the court to enjoin the parents from removing him and taking him elsewhere for treatment. The court stepped in and compelled the hospital to discontinue life support and claimed that further treatment was not in the child’s best interest. This note discusses the heartbreaking stories of Alfie and two other children whose parents’ medical decisions on their behalf were overridden by the court. It argues that courts should never decide that death is in a …

Procreative Autonomy In Gestational Surrogacy Contracts, Vanessa Nahigian

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

With the growing practice of gestational surrogacy, many women bear children with whom they have no genetic relationship, allowing intended parents to have children of their own when they are otherwise unable to do so. This practice, however, creates a ripple in the abortion debate. This Note addresses procreative autonomy in the context of gestational surrogacy agreements, examines the underlying constitutional interests at stake for each party involved, and suggests a solution to fill California’s current statutory void.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tax Talk And Reproductive Technology, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The tax system both reacts to and helps create attitudes about the value of certain behaviors and choices. This Article makes three principal claims—one empirical, one normative, and one interpretative. The Article demonstrates through data that a representative sample of fertility clinics in the United States does not make information about the tax consequences of compensated human egg transfers—commonly called egg “donation”—publicly available. In 2015, in a case of first impression, the United States Tax Court decided in Perez v. Commissioner that a compensated egg transferor must report as income any amount she receives for her eggs. Although the Tax …

American Democratic Deficit In Assisted Reproductive Technology Innovation, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

In many areas of innovation, the United States is a leader, but this characterization does not apply to the United States' position in assisted reproductive technology innovation and clinical use. This article uses a political science concept, the idea of the "democratic deficit" to examine the lack of American public discourse on innovations in ART. In doing so, the article focuses on America's missing public consultation in health care innovation. This missing discourse is significant, as political and ethical considerations may impact regulatory decisions. Thus, to the extent that these considerations are influencing the decisions of federal agency employees, namely …

Just Care: A Relational Approach To Autonomy And Decision Making Of Parents Committed To Religious Or Indigenous Traditional Practices, Tu-Quynh Trinh

LLM Theses

Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. v. D.H. and B. (R.) v. Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto tell important stories about people and relationships—and about parenthood; autonomy; religious believers and cultural communities; and the role of the state in family, culture, and religion. Their narratives were influenced by liberalism and emphasize a degree of individualism that is incongruous given the subject matter of parent child relationships and their place within communities and the law. This thesis explores the application of relational theory and the integrated principles of justice and care to these issues. Ultimately, the stories these judicial opinions tell help …

Puffing Away Parental Rights: A Survey And Analysis Of Whether Secondhand Smoke Exposure Is Child Abuse, Karly Huml

Journal of Law and Health

The steps taken thus far to protect children in public areas, custody cases, and in vehicles show the legislature's awareness of the chemical harms of secondhand smoke for children. This article will analyze those steps and discuss what they mean for both parents' and children's constitutional rights. This article proposes that the legislature take a vital fourth step by including secondhand smoke exposure in child abuse laws. Section II of this article provides the history of smoking tobacco and its transition from a trendy social status to an unpopular, harmful habit. Section II also introduces the steps that have been …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The "Art" Of Future Life: Rethinking Personal Injury Law For The Negligent Deprivation Of A Patient's Right To Procreation In The Age Of Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Erika N. Auger

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Life Worth Living: Fighting Filicide Against Children With Disabilities

Florida A & M University Law Review

This article aims to explore filicide as it relates to children with disabilities. Filicide is a specific type of killing where a parent murders his or her own child. Part II gives a historical perspective on filicide. Part II also explains the various reasons behind filicide and why those reasons specifically apply to the killings of children with disabilities. Further, Part III explores the relationship between sentencing disparities in cases where society sympathizes with the parents of children with disabilities and condemns parents of nondisabled children. Part III also argues that children with disabilities face additional barriers in the fight …

Vaccination Law 101: A Guide For Children’S Lawyers, Christal Cammock, Jennifer Baum

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Today, U.S. children are typically vaccinated against 11 deadly, and formerly common, diseases: diphtheria, Hib disease, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, rubella, pneumococcal disease, tetanus, and varicella (chicken pox). But it wasn’t always so. Vaccines are a relatively recent development in medical history. The world’s first vaccine, for smallpox, was discovered in the late 1700s. A hundred years later, Louis Pasteur discovered the second vaccine, for rabies. By the mid-1900s, technological and medical advances drove more rapid vaccine development, and in 1963, the first measles vaccine was approved.

Before the measles vaccine became available, up to …

Keynote: The Protection Of Lgbt Youth, Craig Konnoth

Publications

This keynote contains three parts. Part I addresses the intersection of two metaphors: medicine and childhood in LGBT Rights. Part II addresses the state regulation of LGBT youth. Part III offers Professor Konnoth's concluding remarks on the protection of LGBT youth.

The Pregnancy Penalty, Jennifer Bennett Shinall

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Despite the renaissance of pregnancy-related scholarship over the past decade, 322 very little has been documented empirically regarding the status of pregnant women in the labor market. As such, scholars and advocates have been constrained in their ability to assess both the adequacy of current legislation and the relative urgency for new legislation. Furthermore, in the absence of labor market data, they have been limited in their ability to propose reform measures that can target the pregnant women most in need of assistance. This Article has taken an initial step towards filling these critical gaps in the literature, utilizing a …

Childhood Obesity And Positive Obligations: A Child Rights-Based Approach, Benedetta Faedi Duramy

Seattle University Law Review

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious current public health challenges. Its prevalence has increased at an alarming rate. The World Health Organization estimated that in 2016 the global number of overweight children under the age of five was over 41 million. Although there is widespread concern about the rising rates of childhood obesity, there is not as much consensus on how to address the problem. Obesity has been mostly considered either a matter of personal responsibility or of parental responsibility when it concerns children. Inadequate attention has been given instead to the obligations borne by States to prevent …

Two & A Half Parents: Three-Parent Ivf And Medical Malpractice In The United States, Jay M. Fulk

Concordia Law Review

Fertility medicine is seeing a rapid advancement with the emergence of a new procedure called three-parent in vitro fertilization (IVF). This novel procedure provides an opportunity for women who have defective mitochondria to bear their own healthy genetic children. As women encounter fertility issues, they will often turn to regular IVF by receiving an egg from a donor—ultimately resulting in a child with no genetic relation to the mother. Women with defective mitochondria will likely pass down a mitochondrial disease to their children, therefore, bearing a child without the assistance from a donor does not present a viable option. Mitochondrial …

Whose Sperm Is It Anyways In The Wild, Wild West Of The Fertility Industry?, Tatiana E. Posada

Georgia State University Law Review

Imagine a couple that is unable to conceive a child naturally. Luckily, they had the money and resources available to them to conceive a child through assisted reproductive technology (ART), so they decided to start their family through the use of intrauterine insemination. They selected a sperm bank and began the arduous process of selecting a sperm donor who fit the desired traits and characteristics for their child. The sperm bank matched them with an anonymous donor, Donor 9623, and assured the couple that the donor was “a healthy male with an IQ of 160, a bachelor’s of science in …

Improving Outcomes In Child Poverty And Wellness In Appalachia In The "New Normal" Era: Infusing Empathy Into Law, Jill C. Engle

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sb 201 - Sick Leave, Mary Elizabeth D. Steinhaus, Chadwick L. Williams

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act amends Georgia’s general provisions relating to labor and industrial relations by adding a new provision that requires qualifying employers to allow their employees to use sick leave to care for immediate family members.

Hb 359 - Power Of Attorney, Roma A. Amin, Catherine V. Schutz

Georgia State University Law Review

The bill would have repealed and replaced Georgia’s Power of Attorney for the Care of a Minor Child Act. The category of people who could be given power of attorney for the care of a minor child would have expanded from only grandparents and great-grandparents to a broad category of the child’s relatives, and anyone associated with a non-profit organization focused on child or family services or a licensed child-placing agency.

Improving Outcomes In Child Poverty And Wellness In Appalachia In The "New Normal" Era: Infusing Empathy Into Law, Jill C. Engle

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Undocumented Citizens Of The United States: The Repercussions Of Denying Birth Certificates, Anna L. Lichtenberger

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Beyond Balancing: Rethinking The Law Of Embryo Disposition, Mary Ziegler

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cedaw And Treaty Compliance: Promoting Access To Modern Contraception, Katherine Sochacki

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Modern contraception is widely recognized as a crucial component of family planning services and is recognized as a reproductive right under international human rights law. However, unmet need for contraception remains high, as many women in the developing world lack access to family planning services. This Note examines the role of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its powers as a treaty monitoring body in increasing access to modern contraception. Drawing on empirical research, the example of CEDAW's influence on abortion rights, and the domestic politics theory of treaty compliance, this Note …