Familie door te zijn, willen of doen: een juridische en morele heroverweging van het afstammingsrecht

In her dissertation, Laureen Hu examines how parentage law can be adapted to changing circumstances. This is urgently needed. Children with unmarried parents or more than two caregivers, intended parents who have brought a child into the world with the help of a surrogate or through gamete donation – nowadays, parents and children come in all shapes and sizes. However, Dutch parentage law is still based on the traditional family model of a married mother and father and their (presumed) biological children. As a result, assigning legal parenthood – which carries with it a range of rights and responsibilities – leads to difficulties in non-standard situations under the current legal framework. In addition, parentage law faces future challenges in light of emerging reproductive technologies. Although the Dutch legislator has made several adjustments in parentage law, a fundamental reassessment that truly reflects the growing diversity of parenthood forms has yet to take place. This raises the question of who, in the context of such a reconsideration, can be recognised as a parent, with what kinds of parental rights and duties, and why. What justifies these choices? Drawing on various approaches from legal theory and ethics, Hu develops moral insights to help guide these considerations. To that end, she examines several approaches: a biological approach – subdivided into a genetic and a gestational perspective – as well as an intentional approach, a causal approach, and a care-based approach. Hu argues that none of these approaches can stand alone; rather, a pluralistic framework is needed to provide a suitable legal structure for the wide range of parents and children that exist today. She develops four models to give shape to such a pluralistic approach within a new parentage or parenthood law.