INTRODUCTION

All over the world, children, especially infants and pre-school children, are treated as the property of their parents rather than as legal subjects, entitled to the empowerment of their parents, to healthy development and to preparation for responsible life, including responsible parenthood. A strong libertarian tradition of formal parental autonomy (that is, autonomy as a legal fiat or fiction, as opposed to real or psychological autonomy) does not seem to leave much room for a child rights based evolution towards a more dignitarian construct of reproductive rights and parental responsibilities. In this chapter, this theme is preliminarily explored and attempts are made for its further development. In section 2, a helicopter view of the theme is presented. In section 3, the concept of responsible parenthood is explored on the basis of a pedagogical model of the principle of the best interests of the child, as well as of an overview of parental responsibilities and related state obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989).

A HELICOPTER VIEW

LIBERTARIAN AND DIGNITARIAN TRADITIONS

In human rights law, a libertarian and a dignitarian stand or tradition may be discerned. Whereas the former emphasises individual freedoms, especially against state intervention, and formal individual autonomy (negative liberty, individualism), the latter tries to clarify the aspect of duties and responsibilities in relation to rights, and to integrate freedom, equal opportunities and solidarity (justice, or even love) into its concept of human dignity (positive liberty, personal development and global citizenship). Not so much ‘respect’ as a claim against others but the combination of self-respect and respect for others, as a core value or virtue, underlies this concept.