Abstract
This section will argue that autonomy has come to play an increasing role in family law in recent decades. Traditionally autonomy was little discussed in family law. That was not surprising. It fits uncomfortably with what are commonly thought to be the central themes of family law: the responsibilities of parents; the state interest in upholding marriage; the establishment of blood ties; and the enforcement of obligations between spouses. None of these are readily reconcilable with the freedom to forge one’s life story, which is at the heart of individualist models of autonomy. Yet in the past few decades the influence of autonomy on family law has been considerable. Here are two examples.
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Herring, J. (2014). Family Law and Autonomy. In: Relational Autonomy and Family Law. SpringerBriefs in Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04987-8_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04987-8_2
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