Law and maternity: the invisibilization of care work

Authors

  • Samara de las Heras Aguilera Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/musas2016.vol1.num1.4

Keywords:

maternity and paternity, caring, human rights, feminist legal theories

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to set out a socio-legal analysis from a feminist perspective and a human rights approach, with the aim of demonstrating the values that
underlie the regulation of motherhood, fatherhood and care work and its social impact. Based on the assumption that it is possible to transform society through legal methods, it is questioned the ideology underlying the Spanish legal order that influences maternity and paternity and determines who has the responsibility for care. In this respect, several studies show that the current regulatory framework reproduces patriarchal values, roles and interests, hiding the complexity and the social value of motherhood and fatherhood and devaluating care work. It concludes that it is necessary to reconceptualise motherhood and fatherhood and to redistribute the responsibility of
care in an equitable manner.

Author Biography

Samara de las Heras Aguilera, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Investigadora del Grupo Antígona y Profesora del Área de Filosofía del Derecho, Departamento de Ciencia Política y Derecho Público, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.
Doctoranda en Derecho Público y Filosofía Jurídico - Política, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; Máster en Igualdad y Género en el ámbito público y privado, Universidad Jaume I; Máster en Estudios Avanzados en Derechos Humanos, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; Licenciada en Derecho, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

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Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2016): Motherhood, technology and medical care

Section

Women and Family

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