Parents, children and the porous boundaries of the sexual family in law and popular culture

This article focuses on a perceived ideological overlap between popular cultural and judicial treatments of sex and conjugality that contributes to a discursive construction of parenthood and parenting. The author perceives that in both legal and popular cultural texts, there is a sense in which notions of ‘natural’ childhood are discursively constituted as being put at risk by those who reproduce outside of dominant sexual norms, and that signs of normative sexuality (typically in the form of heterosexual coupling) may be treated as a sign of safety. These ideas are rooted in ancient associations between fertility, sexuality and femininity that can also be traced in the historical development of the English language. With the help of commentators such as Martha Fineman, the article situates parents and children within a discourse of family which prioritises conjugality, with consequences for the ways in which the internal and external boundaries of families are delineated

Regulation of biological paternity investigation: comparative perspective

O objetivo deste artigo analisar comparativamente a legisla o relativa investiga o de paternidade biológica de crianças nascidas fora do casamento no brasil e em países europeus, com base em pesquisa de documentos legislativos pela internet e na consulta de bibliografia jurídica no mbito do direito da família. Foi elaborada uma tipologia legislativa verdade biológica absoluta e verdade biológica relativa atendendo s seguintes variáveis: formas de atribui o da paternidade (voluntária/ordem do tribunal); tipo de consentimento exigido para realiza o do teste genético (voluntário/forçado); autor da investiga o (estado/outros); e limite temporal da investiga o (existência de prazos processuais/ausência de prazo processual). A verdade biológica absoluta ocorre quando a investigação de paternidade decorre obrigatoriamente, podendo ser ordenado e forçado pelo tribunal o recurso ao teste genético. observou-se a prevalência da verdade biológica relativa. Em todos os países analisados verificou-se que o recurso ao teste genético preponderante no estabelecimento das relações de filiação. Mesmo em países em que necessário o consentimento para a realização de teste de DNA existem modalidades de submiss o mais subtis, que incluem a aplicação de multas ou a gera o da presunção da paternidade com base na recusa em realizar exame genético.The aim of this article is to do a comparative analysis relative to the investigation of biological paternity of children born out of wedlock in Brazil and european countries, based on the research of legislative documents through the internet and the consultation of legal bibliography in the area of family law. The legislative typology was made - absolute biological truth and relative biological truth according to the following variables: forms of paternal attribution (voluntary/court ordered), type of demanded consent for the performance of the genetic test (voluntary/forced), author of the investigation (state/other) and the time limit of the investigation (existence of process deadlines/no process deadlines). The absolute biological truth occurs when the investigation of paternity is compulsory and the court might order and force the submission to a genetic test. The dominating trend is relative biological truth. In all analysed countries it has been verified that the resource to genetic testing is preponderant when establishing affiliation relations. Even in countries where it's not possible to force an individual to the submission of a genetic exam, there are more subtle ways of submission, that include the application of fines or the assumption of paternity based on a refusal to perform the genetic exam.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fertility, Living Arrangements, Care and Mobility

There are four main interconnecting themes around which the contributions in this book are based. This introductory chapter aims to establish the broad context for the chapters that follow by discussing each of the themes. It does so by setting these themes within the overarching demographic challenge of the twenty-first century – demographic ageing. Each chapter is introduced in the context of the specific theme to which it primarily relates and there is a summary of the data sets used by the contributors to illustrate the wide range of cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysed

Deciding Together?:Best Interests and Shared Decision-Making in Paediatric Intensive Care

In the western healthcare, shared decision making has become the orthodox approach to making healthcare choices as a way of promoting patient autonomy. Despite the fact that the autonomy paradigm is poorly suited to paediatric decision making, such an approach is enshrined in English common law. When reaching moral decisions, for instance when it is unclear whether treatment or non-treatment will serve a child’s best interests, shared decision making is particularly questionable because agreement does not ensure moral validity. With reference to current common law and focusing on intensive care practice, this paper investigates what claims shared decision making may have to legitimacy in a paediatric intensive care setting. Drawing on key texts, I suggest these identify advantages to parents and clinicians but not to the child who is the subject of the decision. Without evidence that shared decision making increases the quality of the decision that is being made, it appears that a focus on the shared nature of a decision does not cohere with the principle that the best interests of the child should remain paramount. In the face of significant pressures toward the displacement of the child’s interests in a shared decision, advantages of a shared decision to decisional quality require elucidation. Although a number of arguments of this nature may have potential, should no such advantages be demonstrable we have cause to revise our commitment to either shared decision making or the paramountcy of the child in these circumstances

Public, private and personal: Qualitative research on policymakers' opinions on smokefree interventions to protect children in 'private' spaces

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Governments use law to constrain aspects of private activities for purposes of protecting health and social wellbeing. Policymakers have a range of perceptions and beliefs about what is public or private. An understanding of the possible drivers of policymaker decisions about where government can or should intervene for health is important, as one way to better guide appropriate policy formation. Our aim was to identify obstacles to, and opportunities for, government smokefree regulation of private and public spaces to protect children. In particular, to seek policymaker opinions on the regulation of smoking in homes, cars and public parks and playgrounds in a country with incomplete smokefree laws (New Zealand).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Case study, using structured interviews to ask policymakers (62 politicians and senior officials) about their opinions on new smokefree legislation for public and private places. Supplementary data was obtained from the Factiva media database, on the views of New Zealand local authority councillors about policies for smokefree outdoor public places.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, interviewees thought that government regulation of smoking in private places was impractical and unwise. However, there were some differences on what <it>was </it>defined as 'private', particularly for cars. Even in public parks, smoking was seen by some as a 'personal' decision, and unlikely to be amenable to regulation. Most participants believed that educative, supportive and community-based measures were better and more practical means of reducing smoking in private places, compared to regulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The constrained view of the role of regulation of smoking in public and private domains may be in keeping with current political discourse in New Zealand and similar Anglo-American countries. Policy and advocacy options to promote additional smokefree measures include providing a better voice for childrens' views, increasing information to policymakers about the harms to children from secondhand smoke and the example of adult smoking, and changing the culture for smoking around children.</p

Shared parental leave and the sexual family: the importance of encouraging men to care

This paper considers how shared parental leave could achieve its aim of encouraging fathers to provide care. I will argue that achieving this ambition is dependent upon the legislation continuing to be available only to those performing a parenting role, when two parents are providing childcare. Despite the problems with the two parent family model, it should be retained temporarily because it has unique potential to encourage men to care, as highlighted by Swedish legislation. This is the most effective way to challenge gender inequality. Shared parental leave should only be made available to a wider category of carers after men have been given a realistic chance to care. Widening access earlier risks reinforcing women’s association with caring work