PhD student: Mrs L.H.L. Hu

Promotor: Mrs Prof W.M. Schrama

Duration: 1/9/2019 - 31/8/2023

Abstract:

Parentage law lies at the heart of family law. It determines who is the legal parent of a child, and which individuals are family to each other. But large-scale societal developments put parentage law under pressure. Nowadays, there are many different families: lesbian mother families, multi parent families, etc.. Parentage law, however, is still based on the traditional ideal of a married hetero couple. The legal position of these 'modern families' is insufficiently covered, and relatively weaker than the position of 'default families' that adhere to this ideal. The government has tried to change this, but to no avail. This project aims to reshape parentage law. It is time to completely reconsider its normative foundations. The project will rely on insights from ethical theory to set out the varying normative approaches towards parenthood to find new appropriate foundations. The goal is to create a foundational framework that can provide the basis for the new law on parentage - a system that is inclusive, justified, and that fits with today's society.