The Custody Wars: Why Children Are Losing The Legal Battle, And What We Can Do About It

by Mary Ann Mason

Overview

How should the courts decide custody cases that involve adoption, divorce, and single parenting? Should an abusive husband be given custody of his child? What about unwed fathers? Gay parents? Full-time working mothers? How much say should young children have in court? Family lawyer and historian Mary Ann Mason here casts a harsh spotlight on these and other thorny aspects of contemporary child custody. She argues that the legal shift to "equal treatment" of men and women has translated into parents' rights taking precedence over children's needs. Fairness to parents must not come at the expense of children, Mason insists. Drawing on a wealth of legal cases and research — as well as the stories of families caught in these disputes — she presents a bold program for reform that is certain to change the terms of debate on one of the most highly charged topics on the national agenda.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465015290
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	01/28/2000
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,022,971
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1360L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	1
1	Are Mothers Losing the Custody Wars?	11
2	Joint Custody: Solomon's Solution	39
3	A Voice for the Child?	65
4	Enter the Unwed Father	93
5	Stepparents and Other Legal Strangers	119
6	Domestic Violence: The Hot Zone of the Custody Wars	143
7	Fit to Be a Parent? Gay and Lesbian Parents Come Out of the Closet Fighting	175
8	Test Tube Troubles: Custody in the Age of New Reproductive Technology	203
9	A Place for the Child	229
	Afterword	241
	Notes	245
	Index	271

What People are Saying About This

Judith Wallerstein

"A brilliant, highly readable book that not only points to shocking court and mediation policies but proposes sensible remedies that could be enforced tomorrow. Essential reading for judges, attorneys, mental health practitioners, mediators and responsible parents everywhere."

Editorial Reviews

Mason (law, Univ. of California, Berkeley) looks at how custody issues are settled and how the needs of children are often ignored. One child is quoted as saying that he was unsure to whom he belonged, and the idea of children treated as property instead of as people with feelings permeates the book. Mason reviews the legal, sociological, and psychological literature to provide extensive examples of how the courts deal with issues relating to children as well as technology and the use of frozen eggs and donated sperm. She also discusses single-sex couples and stepparents. This is fascinating reading that may encourage people to reconsider how children are handled in divorce cases. Mason suggests many alternatives, all of which include letting the child's voice be heard throughout the divorce process. The book is loaded with endnotes and resources for additional reading. Collections with a focus on children's issues, law, family studies, and sociology will want this one.--Danna C. Bell-Russel, Library of Congress

Library Journal

Argues for the restoration of children's rights to the foreground of the child custody debate, and looks at tough questions facing custody courts. Constructs a framework for considering all custody issues from a children's perspective and offers proposals for changing the way disputes are settled, drawing on legal cases, psychological research, and the stories of families caught in custody disputes. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

A fierce and informed plea for courts, parents, psychiatrists, and social workers to consider "the best interests of the child" before dividing custody, Solomon-like, between mother and father.

Kirkus Reviews