TY - JOUR
T1 - Fatherhood and child support
T2 - Do men have a right to choose?
AU - Brake, Elizabeth
PY - 2005/3/1
Y1 - 2005/3/1
N2 - My primary aim is to call into question an influential notion of paternal responsibility, namely, that fathers owe support to their children due to their causal responsibility for their existence. I argue that men who impregnate women unintentionally, and despite having taken preventative measures, do not owe child support to their children as a matter of justice; their children have no right against them for support. I argue for this on the basis of plausible principles of responsibility which have been used to defend abortion rights. I then consider the morally relevant differences between men and women, arguing that while in some cases these differences may justify differential treatment, their import should not be overstated — in many cases, the burden of child support will be too great to impose justly on fathers. This conclusion is not as undesirable as it may seem: I suggest feminist considerations in favour of revising the notion of paternal responsibility and consider alternative arrangements of child support.
AB - My primary aim is to call into question an influential notion of paternal responsibility, namely, that fathers owe support to their children due to their causal responsibility for their existence. I argue that men who impregnate women unintentionally, and despite having taken preventative measures, do not owe child support to their children as a matter of justice; their children have no right against them for support. I argue for this on the basis of plausible principles of responsibility which have been used to defend abortion rights. I then consider the morally relevant differences between men and women, arguing that while in some cases these differences may justify differential treatment, their import should not be overstated — in many cases, the burden of child support will be too great to impose justly on fathers. This conclusion is not as undesirable as it may seem: I suggest feminist considerations in favour of revising the notion of paternal responsibility and consider alternative arrangements of child support.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34347314154&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34347314154&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1468-5930.2005.00292.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1468-5930.2005.00292.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34347314154
SN - 0264-3758
VL - 22
SP - 55
EP - 73
JO - Journal of Applied Philosophy
JF - Journal of Applied Philosophy
IS - 1
ER -