State Action That Penalizes Children as Evidence of a Desire to Harm Politically Unpopular Parents

Authors

Catherine E. Smith, Washington and Lee University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Suffolk University Law Review

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

This Article is the first to advance the position that when the government takes the extreme step of denying children basic rights and benefits because of their parents, such state action should be recognized not just as evidence of animus against the children, but also as evidence of "a bare desire to harm" their "politically unpopular" parents. Identifying this type of government motivation and calling it what it is--animus toward parents--is just as important as condemning animus against the children themselves. Anti-parent animus that motivates harmful government behavior towards children should be prohibited as an impermissible means to accomplish an end and viewed as antithetical to our equal protection values.

Recommended Citation

Catherine E. Smith, State Action That Penalizes Children as Evidence of a Desire to Harm Politically Unpopular Parents, 51 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 439 (2018).