Love Makes a Family--Nothing More, Nothing Less: How the Judicial System Has Refused to Protect Nonlegal Parents in Alternative Families

Authors

Barbara Cox, California Western School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1991

Abstract

Part I of this article discusses the legal system's recognition of parental rights and enumerates the possible constitutional, statutory, and equitable theories available for protecting the parental rights of nonlegal parents. Part II considers the cases that have rejected the attempts by members of alternative families to use these theories to obtain this protection. Part III discusses the barriers to political power that will make it extremely difficult and time-consuming to achieve legislative change in these areas, and argues that the courts should use the means available to them currently to protect these nonlegal parents and their children while the legislative battles continue.

Recommended Citation

Cox, Love Makes a Family--Nothing More, Nothing Less: How the Judicial System Has Refused to Protect Nonlegal Parents in Alternative Families, VIII Journal of Law and Politics 5-67 (Fall 1991).