Putting Children's Interest First In American Family Law

The good news is today was the right and left agree that the plaintiff that is really best for children inside. This is family policy with NC family Pres. John Weston thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters shortly.

We all recognize the responsibility that adults the government and society at large have when it comes to safeguarding our children. Today's guest argues that is a matter of public policy. America has really abdicated much of that responsibility, but she also offers a path for were joined today by Helen Alvarez, a family law professor at George Mason University's school Leah law school for over three decades.

Prof. Alvarez has practiced tall and written in both scholarly and secular venues about family and constitutional law.

Religion in the welfare of women and children are today. Prof. Brady and I will be discussing several of the topics covered in her new book putting children's interest first in American family law with power comes responsibility. Helen are very welcome to family policy matters is great to have you on the show. Thank you, well we appreciate you being with this now professor where you spend a good bit of time discussing nonmarital or out of wedlock births in your book. Why should society and government care so much about nonmarital births, especially since they seem to becoming much more commonplace in American culture today right now.

The effect from children and not just money. Money is a part of it. The disconnect usually or very reduced connection with a second parent. It's the fact that everything from cognitive to emotional to educational outcomes for kids is affected and it is not in great contests the right and the last in the literature on both sides tend to agree with it, and two other reasons are that women are raising 86% of the children who are being raised in single-parent household and they are struggling. It's a gigantic correlative poverty among women than men are missing out on fatherhood and that the total family relationship and were also saying that family structure, especially nonmarital parenthood is one of the very largest factors associated with the growing gaps in American society between the rich lurk between races and also rethinking this new literature about women and men that boys who disproportionately grow up without their dads are falling behind their sisters pretty early, not catching up. And this might be closely related to defective girls are graduating college and at rates now much higher than boys. Well it it seems to getting things backwards in some degrees that were putting the interest and welfare of adults above the welfare of children. Other areas of our culture and in even the laws do you find really prioritize the interest of adults over the welfare of children could range really wide man near I mean outside my field.

There's not a lot of people writing about whether or not were caring about our children with environmental policies.

There are fiscal policies or budgetary policies are educational and a lot of people complaining that we thinking about ourselves and our short-term and our adult individual into in the family arena is what the law has done and the book goes through this in some detail from really from talking about adults fundamental interest in sexual expression without kids, you know, we talk about that the laws constitutionalize in contraception for single thought. It's not that I wanted illegal under thing that the case is stated that this was some gigantic outside adult interest in sex without kids. Then you get to abortion for now it sex about kids but it's vis-à-vis ending their lives. Now you've got Lawrence versus Texas in 2003 where same-sex sex is now made a federal constitutional right and then finally you've got the same-sex marriage opinion in 2015 a burger so when the Supreme Court says listen state prior I prioritize procreation or couples who may procreate on the grounds that it would be nice to link children with their parents and parents with their children and they should know and love one another.

You were forbidden from saying that that the particular state value. Instead, any two people who want to have sex and goes to the commitments and the money that's what we value and that's basically having to find marriage so really the case. The kids are utterly stripped of marriage as a state definition and adult sexual express and if so, you know, just waxed eloquent about in these cases, you don't really care how children's family structure begins with what the adults are married or not married, but they conceived artificially, etc. really care it's really what the adults want in terms of expressing and and realizing the personal identity. The outcome of that ends up being the children to family structure is begun at conception are really at the back door of the law and we try make it up to the programs aren't really so what do you see as some of the ways that we can help to restore and strengthen the acknowledgment of our cultural toward the importance of children being raised by their biological parents if at all possible, and in creating a legal environment that supports the most ideal family structure where you know that the first thing is we have to stop creative people who say oh my gosh you know the Dan Quayle was back in our minutes talking about the Murphy Brown program and and you know, family values and in corralling anyone who might agree with them. Just hate women and stigmatizes single parenthood once his children to be punished.

All of that is wrong and we have to get over it. At this point because then we let our own fears really triumph over what children need. The good news is today. Both the right and the left agreed that the that the place that is really best for children, the most responsible place it inside marriage and you get is a famous report now looking to the left institution American enterprise Institute, which is a right institution together, issued a report that cited in my book on opportunity, responsibility, etc. and agree that we have got to be speaking absolutely clearly about responsibility for children means thinking about where there conceived in marriage would be best. But even before that my my first recommendation is government kind of I couldn't stop stupid and tell the truth under the Obama administration. In particular, I mean these policies will be turned someday present at many state level partnering with Planned Parenthood in a group called power to decide which used to be the national campaign for teen and unplanned pregnancy which basically say listen. It's not a teenager just have sex now you deception if you don't want kids. If you do want kids in your single to worry about other people's opinion. You have to do anything except what makes you happy and paste the belt literally linked on federal websites and states are still using the materials in many cases we have to stop that kind of stupid advice, which is explicitly adults first and we don't care about children and it's in the name of now, if we close our eyes, we won't feel it happening to the kids if we speak up about it were afraid to be accused of hating women were kids in single-parent families now we we want to be compassionate. We want to be truthful at the same time it can be done but we haven't been doing it for a while, means things like sex ed turns into marriage and relationship education means we speak the truth. It means when the government is forking out billions of dollars of contraception.

It basically issues a warning that says hey when you unlink the idea of sex even the idea of children, marriage extended family can love to suffer the way women suffered a lot to summer man because we actually prefer commitment with our childbearing and our love your listening to policy matters of resource to listen to our radio show online and more resources that will be a voice of persuasion in your community to our website see family.org in your book should be spent a lot of time discussing men, women, relationships, contraception and babies but you also call attention to the topics of the economy and employment talk about that a little bit if you would the role that the economy and employment play in the this big picture right eye references for two reasons. One, because factually it's true that unless people believe they have an opportunity for a job in particular, women want to marry and then to our stately employer had that possibility. They do and say that sexist to that's old-fashioned you call it whatever you like, but if you want to solve the problem. You have to realize that that's just a fact, and men themselves feel that they are ready for marriage or more qualified for it if they are. You now have the opportunity to be stably employed so we have to assist more men to get and keep employment which means I make recommendations about you know how come from better scholars on this to myself, but I I report about better education, leading to better employment references. Also, because I want people in both the left and the right to understand that I do not see this issue as a part of Camilla partisan. I am not I'm a person cannot be Christian about how you shape the law for the common good, particularly for the vulnerable and that means, particularly for children or in United States. And so I wanted to signal and also to get some information about how it is that the left and the right issues have to come together to work on this and we have to overcome the partisanship in the name of doing something good for our basically our feature, which is every body kit. So with that in mom what role do you believe the government can play in should play in encouraging marriage and Mary parenting the things that I talked about previously. I would list their stop encouraging nonmarital sex on your website the group to partner with give money to Planned Parenthood.

The public decide start linking everything you talk about on sexual activity two marriage, children, family structure on this new government sex ed program should be relationship and marriage program they have to speak absolutely explicitly about the good of children being born into a family structure to have to do that explicitly and make a couple of other recommendations book.

But these are some of the well. As we close our conversation. We all know that many of our listeners are very interested in the though what we've been discussing today and may be wondering what what role cannot play. We talked about government in these bigger picture perspectives.

But as individuals who want to see prosperous families and want to see the role of of parenting enhanced. It also really or very concerned and committed to the welfare of our children what role can we as individuals play in this and what you think the most important things that we can do in our daily lives to help foster this count of environment.

Well, one thing we know that people who grow up with parents who are mutually committed another and with faith ammunition for everybody, but for people who who are a strong and mutual and family centered and family sensory environment where you crack does a lot in religion from people have actual face across any militant actually say then their understanding of the human person be increased. To be safe gives light, it's not. I have outlined some scripture or teachings that are there arbitrary rules. It's about who the human person is and how their free relationship to God. So, so a family of faith is that antigen recently, churches should speak frankly about that, and frankly uninformed and hearing to make shameless, but not so shameless because it's not about money. Might my website up and fix women speak for themselves.com it is largely limited faith to come together and say you know I'd like to talk about this in a way that my children will understand my sisters my students my fellow members of the congregation or a parish and women speak to themselves basically gives you crack sheets daily Facebook update all about the sex dating and marriage marketplace created by a combination of culture and law today were basically sexist, cheap women are pressured into it is the price of the data relationship and it's not helping anything as if it's a modern informed, intelligent way of addressing this and we have multitudinous amount of of materials on the topics themselves, and then on how to communicate effectively will let me repeat that website for listeners again. Women speak for them selves.com and professor of children's interest first American family law with power comes responsibility and without Prof. hello Maria want to thank you so much for joining us on family policy matters and for your excellent research and your commitment to teaching future generations about the importance of issues that we've been discussing and listening to family policy matter of production and to listen to our radio show online valuable resources and information about issues important to families and Carolina website see family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook