Monday, April 05, 2004
Law Commission on assinine trip
Charles Dickens, in the guise of Mr Bumble, said "the law is an ass". It's an ass when it is drafted and administered by assinine men and women. And lately the New Zealand bearers of the powdered wigs have been examining their nether regions a mite too closely to realise how out of teach they are with commonsense.
Some children could have two legal mums and two legal dads if radical options for redefining parenthood become law. The Law Commission has issued a discussion document on whether laws regarding parenthood, guardianship and other family issues should be overhauled to keep up with the fast pace of social change.
New Issues in Legal Parenthood says changes such as more surrogacies, new birth technologies and an increase in lesbian and gay couples and single women having children has dated present laws. The law also fails to recognise the Maori practice of children sometimes being raised by adults who are not their genetic parents.
The Law Commission has been sniffing around the rear end of this one for a long time. It backed adoption by same-sex couples, and approves of similar provisions in the Care of Children Bill currently before Parliament.
When that Bill was first released, some politicians jumped up and down at a clause which said that a child could have two mums or dads. The then guiding minister, Lianne Dalziel (who was subsequently sacked on unrelated matters), hastily had the clause redrafted so it didn’t quite say it that way, although the intent is still there. Now the Law Commission is throwing its weight behind the concept.
The more we try and draft laws to try and sort out the social mess we are getting into, the deeper we flounder into the mire.
Anyone with an ounce of commonsense could tell the legal eagles how they’ve screwed up their minds. Maxim Institute dealt with the issue in its submission to Parliament on the Care of Children Bill.
A look at some of the issues involved in assisted human reproduction can also be seen here.
The Auckland District Law Society has a summary of the Law Commission proposal.
Charles Dickens, in the guise of Mr Bumble, said "the law is an ass". It's an ass when it is drafted and administered by assinine men and women. And lately the New Zealand bearers of the powdered wigs have been examining their nether regions a mite too closely to realise how out of teach they are with commonsense.
Some children could have two legal mums and two legal dads if radical options for redefining parenthood become law. The Law Commission has issued a discussion document on whether laws regarding parenthood, guardianship and other family issues should be overhauled to keep up with the fast pace of social change.
New Issues in Legal Parenthood says changes such as more surrogacies, new birth technologies and an increase in lesbian and gay couples and single women having children has dated present laws. The law also fails to recognise the Maori practice of children sometimes being raised by adults who are not their genetic parents.
The Law Commission has been sniffing around the rear end of this one for a long time. It backed adoption by same-sex couples, and approves of similar provisions in the Care of Children Bill currently before Parliament.
When that Bill was first released, some politicians jumped up and down at a clause which said that a child could have two mums or dads. The then guiding minister, Lianne Dalziel (who was subsequently sacked on unrelated matters), hastily had the clause redrafted so it didn’t quite say it that way, although the intent is still there. Now the Law Commission is throwing its weight behind the concept.
The more we try and draft laws to try and sort out the social mess we are getting into, the deeper we flounder into the mire.
Anyone with an ounce of commonsense could tell the legal eagles how they’ve screwed up their minds. Maxim Institute dealt with the issue in its submission to Parliament on the Care of Children Bill.
A look at some of the issues involved in assisted human reproduction can also be seen here.
The Auckland District Law Society has a summary of the Law Commission proposal.
