The Often Illusory Protections of “Biology Plus:” On the Supreme Court’s Parental Rights Jurisprudence
The Often Illusory Protections of “Biology Plus:” On the Supreme Court’s Parental Rights Jurisprudence
Mark Strasser, 13 Tex. J. on C.L. & C.R. 31 (2008)
Part I of this article discusses the United States Supreme Court jurisprudence in this area, arguing that although the Court has left many questions unanswered, the prevailing interpretation of that jurisprudence neither captures what the Court has said nor what it has implied. Part II of this article discusses several state court cases in which unwed fathers attempted to block adoptions of their non-marital children. While some of the protections for non-marital fathers created by the state courts are wise and likely to prevent unfairness and injustice, these protections are not demanded by the Constitution as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court, protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. The article concludes that the best understanding of the current jurisprudence is that the constitutional protections are much less robust than currently thought, and offers some modest suggestions about the protections of the rights of unwed fathers that might be created by statute.