Carol Smart Introduction In this chapter, I shall explore a number of themes which have come together to form the background to the re-ignition of a major gender struggle in the area of family life and family law. This struggle is ostensibly over children and, in particu­lar, over how children’s lives should be lived after […]

France, Luxembourg and Italy continue an ancient tradition whereby a woman can enter a hospital; give her name as X, indicating that she does not wish to reveal her identity; give birth; and leave her child in the hands of the authorities.[425] In Odievre v France,[426] the European Court of Human Rights, by a majority […]

There are several levels at which the court decisions above can be interrogated. On a technical level, the decisions of the social services and court authorities on how to proceed, and even on how to frame the questions, were not inevitable. The woman’s placement of the infant for adoption could have been handled differently. However, […]

This is the story told by the Court of Appeal[408] after the Family Division of the High Court had refused the applicant’s plea that her birthgiving be confidential. The woman in question gave birth to a child, having concealed the pregnancy from her husband and two children. She gave the child into the care of […]

One account of autonomy developed by feminist theory is in relation to the abortion decision. Whether this decision is seen as based on a liberal notion of choice or on a post-liberal concept of the self, there has been little contest, within feminism, about justification, which is presented as a personal choice. While the history […]

Motherhood is presented in this literature as an institution or structure, usually constructed by patriarchy, in which women are portrayed as the natural carers of children. This motherhood is a socially constructed ‘myth’ perpetuating oppres­sion and patriarchy, restricting women’s equal opportunities[372] and constraining women’s life plans.[373] On our review, this seems to be the most […]

Other theorists present very different views of women as mothers. While the distinction between women and men continues to be based on our reproductive capacities, instead of this being negatively viewed as a hindrance to women’s ability to live freely, it is instead seen as something to celebrate.[364] In what has been called the ‘unofficial […]

Certain feminists have viewed women’s capacity for motherhood as a natural, biological phenomenon, but one that thereby prevents women from being capable of living a fully autonomous life. These feminists require that women overcome their ‘natural’ state to become free and autonomous. In existential feminist theory, becoming a woman is a socially constructed condition.[360] On […]

While the idea of autonomy has increased in importance in many areas of law,[353] it has been subject to critique by many feminist theorists. Some have concluded that its meaning is, at worst, incomprehensible or, at best, of little value or use to feminism. At the same time, however, most agree that some idea of […]

This part of our paper focuses on what feminists have to say about women’s autonomy, or lack of autonomy, in relation to their reproductive capacities and child-caring responsibilities. We begin by investigating the general feminist litera­ture on women’s ability to make choices and the concept of autonomy. We then move on to analyse the work […]