Family Law Issues (From AIDS Cases and Materials, P 397-466, 1989, Michael L. Closen, Donald H. J. Hermann, et al. -- See NCJ-126507)

• NCJ Number: 126513
• Author(s): M L Closen
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 70 pages
• Sale Source: John Marshall Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

AIDS happened upon the American scene at an intriguing time, to further complicate the already complex subject of family law.

Abstract

It is commonly said that one of the important side effects of the AIDS emergency is that more and more healthy people are settling into monogamous relationships either through marriage or otherwise. If these relationships are nonmarital, the law should be prepared to deal with them. The decision whether to have children is enormously complex and important for anyone at any time. AIDS has made it even more difficult. The increased possibility of AIDS and the hysteria associated with it can cause serious distress in both children and parents. And, there can be genuine health risks to children being born in the time of AIDS, because AIDS can be transmitted to children in a number of ways. Most cases of AIDS in children are a result of perinatal transmission from infected mothers. Infants born with HIV infection are frequently the first member of their family to be diagnosed. Most of these children die of HIV-related diseases before the age of three.