The “quote-unquote, outdated notion of two parents”
Posted By RichC on July 16, 2012
| WSJ This Morning Podcast (MP3 Snippet) – “outdated notion of two parents” |
Every once in a while there is a morning when I wake to read, or in this case half-listen to the news and think, “I must have over-slept … by a couple generations!” The WSJ This Morning podcast (MP3) relayed an article that Ashby Jones wrote about California’s proposed bill SB 1476 dealing with the “outdated notion of two parents.” (two parents = outdated???) The bill proposes that judges should be permitted to rule that children can have 3 or more legal parents … the article points out this may create more problems than it solves. Hmm, I’m reminded of the Hillary Clinton 1996 point of view … "it takes a village to raise a child" … are they all parents too?
Excerpt below:
"Families are formed in a variety of ways today, and this bill will bring California into the 21st century by recognizing that," said Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat and the bill’s author.
The legislation’s opponents object on a number of grounds, including that the bill, which contains no upper limit on the number of parents a court could recognize, is likely to spawn unintended consequences.
"If a minor dies, will all five parents have rights to bring wrongful-death claims?" asked Assemblyman Donald Wagner, a Republican who opposes the bill. "Does a child get Social Security benefits if one of his five parents dies? Right now, there’s really no end to these questions."
Another argument raised in opposition: multiple parents can be harmful to children.
"This bill theoretically allows a family court to be able to divide up a child’s time among a number of people," said Karen Anderson, the executive director of the California Protective Parents Association, which works to protect children from incest and family violence. "But in situations like these, children often need more stability, not less."
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