Alternative models of family creation, in vitro fertilization and children's rights and legal interests

Abstract

Contemporary society and modern law permanently revise concepts of marriage and family and generate new models of family creation that comprise alternative to the traditional family model. Often such new models are based not on the human nature but on the personal interests of adults. The rights and legal interests of the child in such cases are simply ignored. The current article discusses the problems how the substitution of traditional family that is understood as the union of a man and a woman by alternative family creation models, such as e. g. same-sex persons matrimony that has recently been legalised in several countries, effect the content of parenthood. In this case it is important that alongside with the traditional concept of biological parenthood the concept of psychological parenthood is being developed. Moreover, currently this concept of parenthood gains weighty meaning in legislation as well as in the judicial practice. The problems of psychological parenthood in turn are closely linked with the in vitro fertilization that is one of the most significant factors determining the formation of psychological parenthood concept. The principal aim of the article is to analyse the effects that above mentioned social and as well legal phenomena have on the rights and legal interests of children. The authors claim that personal interest's of adult persons are given priority over the children's rights in majority of discussed cases, the rights of parents often are not unionized with the corresponding duties towards children. This more and more frequently leads to the situations when the child is put into the position of the object and not the subject of law.