Same Sex Parenting And The Best Interests Principle

Uses the concept of the best interests of the child to advocate for legal recognition of LGBT+ parenting.

This book analyses the key issues affecting same-sex families in Ireland and beyond today: marriage; formalised and non-formalised same-sex relationships outside of marriage; parental rights for same-sex couples with donor-conceived or surrogate-born children; and the protections afforded to same-sex families under European human rights law. It critically examines the Irish and Australian citizen-led approaches to achieving marriage equality, which made Ireland and Australia the first and second countries in the world, respectively, to extend the institution of marriage to same-sex couples on foot of a popular vote. It analyses the pragmatic and symbolic effects of civil partnership, which was the premier means of formalising same-sex unions in Ireland. Ireland's hurried 'divorce' from civil partnership in the aftermath of marriage equality is examined in light of evidence from the U.K. indicating that this mode of relationship recognition remains popular with both same-sex and opposite-sex couples in that jurisdiction. The book goes on to consider the legal position of same-sex couples who are parenting children born via assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) like donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR) and surrogacy. Finally, it looks at the impact (or lack thereof) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as regards the protection of same-sex relationships, marriage and parental rights for same-sex couples. It does this to determine what is required of Ireland and other states party to the ECHR to comply with European human rights obligations when it comes to legally recognising couples, and parents, of the same sex.

Bringing together scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this captivating and judicious Research Handbook provides diverse perspectives on the law and practice of adoption. It examines how adoption laws differ between countries and cultures, and the ongoing effects of adoption on the child, the birth parent(s), and the adoptive parent(s).

The articles in this volume shed light on some of the major tensions in the field of children?s rights (such as the ways in which children?s best interests and respect for their autonomy can be reconciled), challenges (such as how the CRC can be made a reality in the lives of children in the face of ignorance, apathy or outright opposition) and critiques (whether children?s rights are a Western imposition or a successful global consensus). Along the way, the writing covers a myriad of issues, encompassing the opposition to the CRC in the US; gay parenting: Dr Seuss?s take on children?s autonomy; the voice of neonates on their health care; the role of NGO in supporting child labourers in India, and young people in detention and more.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most extensive and widely ratified international human rights treaty. This Commentary offers a comprehensive analysis of each of the substantive provisions in the Convention and its Optional Protocols on Children and Armed Conflict and the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography. It offers a detailed insight into the drafting history of these instruments, the scope and nature of the rights accorded to children and the obligations imposed on states to secure the implementation of these rights. In doing so, it draws on the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, international, regional and domestic courts, academic and interdisciplinary scholarly analyses. It is of relevance to anyone working on matters affecting children including government officials, policy makers, judicial officers, lawyers, educators, social workers, health professionals, academics, aid and humanitarian workers, and members of civil society.

This book identifies, analyses and discusses the nexus of legal issues that have emerged in recent years around sexuality and gender. It audits these against specific human rights requirements and evaluates the outcomes as evidenced in the legislation and caselaw of six leading common law jurisdictions. Beginning with a snapshot of the legal definitions and sanctions associated with the traditional marital family unit, the book examines the subsequently evolving key concepts and constructs before outlining the contemporary international framework of human rights as it relates to matters of sexuality and gender. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes, including the rights to identity, to form a family, to privacy, to equality and to non-discrimination, and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate areas of commonality and difference in the approaches adopted in those common law jurisdictions, as illustrated by the associated legislation and caselaw. It then considers why this should be and assesses the implications.

A sweeping historical and political account of how our present-day policy debates around citizenship and equality came to be. The landmark Supreme Court decision in June 2015 legalizing the right to same-sex marriage marked a major victory in gay and lesbian rights in the United States. Once subject to a patchwork of laws granting legal status to same-sex couples in some states and not others, gay and lesbian Americans now enjoy full legal status for their marriages wherever they travel or reside in the country. For many, the Supreme Court’s ruling means that gay and lesbian citizens are one step closer to full equality with the rest of America. In Fragmented Citizens, Stephen M. Engel contends that the present moment in gay and lesbian rights in America is indeed one of considerable advancement and change—but that there is still much to be done in shaping American institutions to recognize gays and lesbians as full citizens. With impressive scope and fascinating examples, Engel traces the relationship between gay and lesbian individuals and the government from the late nineteenth century through the present. Engel shows that gays and lesbians are more accurately described as fragmented citizens. Despite the marriage ruling, Engel argues that LGBT Americans still do not have full legal protections against workplace, housing, family, and other kinds of discrimination. There remains a continuing struggle of the state to control the sexuality of gay and lesbian citizens—they continue to be fragmented citizens. Engel argues that understanding the development of the idea of gay and lesbian individuals as ‘less-than-whole’ citizens can help us make sense of the government’s continued resistance to full equality despite massive changes in public opinion. Furthermore, he argues that it was the state’s ability to identify and control gay and lesbian citizens that allowed it to develop strong administrative capacities to manage all of its citizens in matters of immigration, labor relations, and even national security. The struggle for gay and lesbian rights, then, affected not only the lives of those seeking equality but also the very nature of American governance itself. Fragmented Citizens is a sweeping historical and political account of how our present-day policy debates around citizenship and equality came to be.

Praise for the second edition: “This book is the best available for teaching the role of law in society and making sense of how it operates within the (inter)connections of race, class and gender dynamics often perpetuating oppression. … Locating Law is essential for undergraduate students in justice, sociology and criminology.” – Margot Hurlbert, University of Regina “Students regularly tell me that Locating Law is their favourite book out of the selections for the Law and Society course. The case studies are sufficiently different from one another that the students deepen their general knowledge, and they appreciate the fact that the chapters are written in a style they can understand.” – Jennifer Jarman, Lakehead University A primary concern within the study of law has been to understand the “law-society” relation. Underlying this concern is the belief that law has a distinctly social basis; it both shapes – and is shaped by – the society in which it operates. This book explores the law-society relation by locating law within the nexus of race/class/gender/sexuality relations in society. In addition to updating the material in the theoretical and substantive chapters, this third edition of Locating Law includes three new contributions: sentencing law and Aboriginal peoples; corporations and the law; and obscenity and indecency legislation. The analyses offered in the book are sure to generate discussion and debate and, in the process, enhance our understanding of law’s location.