Family and Juvenile Law, Co-Sponsored by Children and the Law and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues

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Recent family law discussions have largely centered on adult intimate relationships, overlooking the significant changes also occurring in the parent-child dyad. This panel will focus on the interplay between parents’ and children’s relational rights, and how these have evolved to reflect demographic realities, new understandings of childhood and adolescent development, and the sea change in marriage jurisprudence. Topics may include definitions of parenthood, including context and number of parents; the balance between parental obligations and rights; the relationship between marriage and cohabitation and parenthood; as well as children’s rights to a voice and influence in their relationships with adults, their own education, and their discipline/freedom from harm.