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- Title
A Post-Dobbs Future: Bailing Water Downstream to Center Democracy's Children.
- Authors
Smith, Charisa
- Abstract
The reversal of Roe v. Wade1 by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization2 not only imperils vital reproductive freedom across the United States but also illuminates the countless ways that childhood precarity will be exacerbated downstream now that forced births are sanctioned by the state. While an individual's reasons for exercising abortion rights in a particular circumstance are personal and complex, the decimation of reproductive selfdetermination diminishes possible alternative life paths for children and threatens to destabilize communities amidst a lingering global pandemic. Although those who oppose reproductive autonomy cloak themselves in rhetoric centering children and families, right-wing law and policy priorities consistently imperil children and families. Just as America's tattered social safety net disregards human vulnerability throughout the life course, interconnected public systems with a punitive and often violent orientation simultaneously curtail marginalized children's basic ability to function and survive. These developments exist amidst a backdrop that this author previously coined the "empathy gap," wherein public perception and legal responses towards marginalized communities depend largely upon specious preconceived notions about race, ethnicity, class, and deviance. This Article addresses the question of how the legal landscape, as well as daily political life, should shift to mitigate the forthcoming damage that Dobbs (and forced caregiving) will inevitably inflict upon children and families. Those seeking to truly provide for and empower children must interrogate and reject the entrenched, systemic barriers that already cause harm. Examining several ubiquitous, punitive systems of intervention that will undoubtedly cause amplified damage to children in the wake of Dobbs, this Article ultimately argues that a post-Dobbs democracy requires a paradigm shift towards abolition, re-imagination, and revitalized self-governance. Efforts to rescue children from a deluge of precarity and avoid ripples of socioeconomic impact must prioritize the eradication of the school-to-prison pipeline, the famil-policing system, and the overgrown carceral state. Without that vital paradigm shift, the United States risks figuratively drowning children in hardship and repression, towards an immense loss of future civic participation and workforce stability. More than ever, realigned budget priorities (particularly divestmentreinvestment) and widespread self-governance are a vital baseline for ensuring that children--whether planned or unplanned--and their families avoid dire outcomes. After discussing numerous promising examples across the country, this Article makes recommendations for best practices and future advocacy. It was an especially hot day in an Orlando, Florida classroom, and six-year-old Kaia felt irritable and a bit out of breath. Her teacher's first grade lesson was very tough to follow. Although she tried to stay interested and calm, Kaia felt herself become more upset. With her sleep apnea, sometimes Kaia just could not get enough rest for a growing six-year-old, and she felt so uncomfortable during long school days that she ended up acting out. Before she knew it, Kaia became physical and was in the midst of a childhood temper tantrum. She did not mean to, but Kaia ended up kicking Ms. Lewis as the teacher tried to contain her, and Kaia's physical discomfort and emotions flared. Crying uncontrollably, Kaia became terrified when Officer Turner of the Orlando Police Department towered over her. Officer Turner violently grabbed her and forced her small arms and wrists into handcuffs. School staff and officials simply looked on, despite knowing of Kaia's medical condition and creating her a Behavior Intervention Plan as a mandated special education provider. Kaia sobbed, "Please! Please! I wanna go back! Let me go!" but Officer Turner gruffly dragged her down the hall in handcuffs and pushed her into the police car. He congratulated Kaia on "breaking the record" as the youngest person he had ever arrested. Kaia's grandmother Meralyn did not get word of Kaia's arrest until well after the traumatized six-year-old was in custody. Kaia was denied the comfort of her grandmother's visit even after being hauled to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where she was fingerprinted and had her mugshot taken. Officer Turner had a history of misconduct, was previously suspended for using excessive force on a teenager, and had actually arrested a six-year-old boy the same day Kaia was arrested. Kaia's family would later file a lawsuit against Officer Turner, his supervisor, the Orlando police chief, the mayor, and the city of Orlando for unreasonable seizure; excessive force; violation of due process and equal protection; violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act for discriminating against children with disabilities; and the tort claims false arrest, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. Yet, Kaia ultimately experienced lingering trauma, social stigma, educational delays, and exacerbated health issues for years, while the school district was not named as a defendant, and underlying issues of zero tolerance school discipline policies, racism, gender stereotyping, and other systemic oppression impacting students throughout the district remained unaddressed.
- Subjects
REPRODUCTIVE rights; DOBBS v. Jackson Women's Health Organization; ABORTION laws; ROE v. Wade; MEDICAL laws; ABORTION prevention
- Publication
Seton Hall Law Review, 2024, Vol 54, Issue 3, p747
- ISSN
0586-5964
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.60095/jjrr2345