Seminar: Law, Politics, and the Family
Professor Ann Laquer Estin
Fall 2004

Paper Topic Areas

Adolescent Pregnancy
See Teen Pregnancies Decline to 1973 Low, Report Says, L.A. Times, Apr. 29, 1999 at A5.
Bowen v. Kendrick, 487 U.S. 589 (1988).
Annette Lawson and Deborah Rhode, eds., The Politics of Pregnancy: Adolescent Sexuality and Public Policy (1993).
Elizabeth Buchanan, The Constitution and the Anomaly of the Pregnant Teenager, 24 Ariz. L. Rev. 553 (1982).

Consent to Adoption by Nonmarital Father
Baby Jessica case (In re Girl Clausen, 502 N.W.2d 649 (Mich. 1993).)
Baby Richard case (Petition of Doe, 638 N.E.2d 181 (Ill.),cert. denied 513 U.S. 994 (1994).)
Deborah Forman, Unwed Fathers and Adoption: A Theoretical Analysis in Context, 72 Tex. L. Rev. 967 (1994).
John Lawrence Hill, What Does It Mean to be a "Parent"? The Claims of Biology as the Basis for Parental Rights,
66 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 353 (1991).
Mary L. Shanley, Unwed Fathers' Rights, Adoption, and Sex Equality: Gender Neutrality and the Perpetuation of Patriarchy, 95 Colum. L. Rev. 59 (1995).

Tort Remedies for the "Thwarted Father"
Smith v. Malouf, 722 So.2d 490 (Miss. 1998).
Kessel v. Leavitt, 511 S.E.2d 720 (W.Va. 1998).

Abortion and the Nonmarital Father
Coe v. County of Cook, 162 F.3d 491 (7th Cir. 1998).

Limits on Public Assistance Based on Contraceptive Use or Family Size
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1995, H.R. 4, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (1995).
Linda C. McClain, Irresponsible Reproduction, 47 Hastings L.J. 339 (1996).
Susan Freilich Appleton, Standards for Constitutional Review of Privacy-Invading Welfare Reforms,
49 Vand. L. Rev. 1 (1996).
Lucy A. Williams, The Ideology of Division: Behavior Modification Welfare Reform Proposals,
102 Yale L. J. 719 (1992).

Artificial Reproduction -- Frozen Embryos
Davis v. Davis, 842 S.W.2d 588 (Tenn. 1992).
Kass v. Kass, 696 N.E.2d 174 (N.Y. 1998).
A.Z. v. B.Z., 725 N.E.2d 1051 (Mass. 2000).

Surrogate Parenting Contracts
In re Baby M., 537 A.2d 1227 (N.J. 1988).
Johnson v. Calvert, 19 Cal. Rptr.2d 494 (1993).
R.R. v. M.H., 689 N.E.2d 790 (Mass. 1998).
Lori B. Andrews, Between Strangers: Surrogate Mothers, Expectant Fathers, and Brave New Babies (1989).
Martha A. Field, Surrogate Motherhood (1988).
Carmel A. Shalev, Birth Power (1989).

Egg and Sperm Donors
Thomas S. v. Robin Y, 618 N.Y.S. 2d 356 (App. Div. 1994).
In the Interest of R.C., 775 P.2d 27 (Colo. 1989).
Fred A. Bernstein, This Child Does Have Two Mothers . . .And a Sperm Donor with Visitation,
22 Rev. L. & Social Change 1 (1996).
Janet L. Dolgin, The Law Debates the Family: Reproductive Transformations, 7 Yale J. L. & Feminism 37 (1995).
Dorothy Roberts, The Genetic Tie, 62 U. Chi. L.Rev. 209 (1995).
John A. Robertson, Children of Choice: Freedom and the New Reproductive Technologies (1994).

Children's Right to "Choose" Parents or Guardian
Walter Polovchak case (In re Polovchak, 545 N.E.2d 258 (Ill. 1983) cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1065 (1984); see also Polovchak v. Meese, 774 F.2d 731 (7th Cir. 1985).)
Gregory K. case (Kingsley v. Kingsley, 623 So.2d 780 (Fla. Ct. App. 1993).)

Opening Adoption Records
Doe v. Sundquist, 106 F.3d 702 (6th Cir. 1997); Doe v. Sundquist, 2 S.W.3d 919 (Tenn. 1999).
Does v. Oregon, 933 P.2d 822 (Or. Ct. App. 1999).

Transracial Adoption
42 U.S.C. § 1996b (West 1996).
Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984).
Joan Heifetz Hollinger, A Guide to the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 as Amended by the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 (1998).
Richard Banks, The Color of Desire: Fulfilling Adoptive Parents' Racial Preferences through Discriminatory State Activity, 107 Yale. L.J. 875 (1998).
Elizabeth Bartholet, Where Do Black Children Belong? The Politics of Race Matching in Adoption,
139 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1163 (1991).
Patricia J, Williams, Essay: Spare Parts, Family Values, Old Children, Cheap, 28 New England L. Rev. 913 (1994).

The Constitution and Same Sex Marriage
Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P.2d 44 (Haw. 1993).
William N. Eskridge Jr., A History of Same Sex Marriage, 79 Va. L. Rev. 1419 (1993).
Nancy D. Polikoff, We Will Get What We Ask For: Why Legalizing Gay and Lesbian Marriage Will Not "Dismantle the Legal Structure of Gender in Every Marriage," 79 Va. L. Rev. 1535 (1993).
Lynn D. Wardle, A Critical Analysis of Constitutional Claims for Same-Sex Marriage, 1996 B.Y. U. L. Rev. 1 (1996).

Civil Union and Statewide Domestic Partnership Registration
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15 §§ 1201-1207 and tit. 18 §§ 5160-5169 (2000).
Reciprocal Beneficiaries Act, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 572C (Supp. 1997).
California legislation (AB 26) passed in 1999; see Amy Pyle, State Begins Accepting Gays' Domestic Partner Sign-ups, L.A. Times, Jan. 4, 2000.

Adoption by Gay or Lesbian "Second Parent"
E.g. Adoptions of B.L.V.B. and E.L.B.B., 628 A.2d 1271 (Vt. 1993).
Nancy D. Polikoff, This Child Does Have Two Mothers: Redefining Parenthood to Meet the Needs of Children in Lesbian-Mother and Other Non-traditional Families, 78 Geo. L. Rev. 459 (1990).

State Tort Claims for Domestic Violence (and mini-VAWAs)
E.g. Cusseaux v. Pickett, 652 A.2d 789 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1994).
Robyn Meredith, Illinois Mulls New Tactic Over Vioelnce Based on Sex, N.Y. Times, Feb. 9, 2000.

Jailing Child Support Obligors for Failing to Seek Employment
Moss v. Superior Court, 950 P.2d 59 (Cal. 1998).
U.S. v. Ballek, 170 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. 1999).

Gender Bias in Custody Litigation
David Blankenhorn, Fatherhood (1994).
Martha A. Fineman, The Illusion of Equality: The Rhetoric and Reality of Divorce Reform (1991).
Mary Ann Mason, From Father's Property to Children's Rights: The History of Child Custody in the United States (1994).

Immigration Law: Unaccompanied Minors
Gonzalez v. Reno, 2000 WL 701613 (11th Cir. 2000).
William Glaberson, Court's Ruling is Giving Experts Pause About Rights of Children to be Heard, N.Y. Times, April 22, 2000.