Having developed a general theory of children's moral rights in connection with state decision making about their relationships, and having worked out a number of details and answered a number of objections, I proceed now to consider concrete ways in which the law might be reformed to conform to children's moral rights. Explaining the specific proposals I offer below will help to reiterate theoretical points made in earlier chapters. The proposals are tentative, because my aim was not to amass all the empirical information relevant to the legal issues I discuss but rather to develop a theoretical framework for addressing them. A fuller investigation of all the empirical issues relevant to a child-centered reformation of the law would help to refine the proposals.

I do not attempt a comprehensive code of children's relationships rights here. I focus on three particular areas of the law to illustrate the conclusions of the normative analysis. Parentage laws in many countries now pay little or no heed to the welfare of children, and they are the ultimate cause of so much suffering for children and of so many societal problems that they cry out for reform. Legal rules for responding to inadequate parenting (i.e., abuse and neglect laws) are, in the United States and elsewhere, a quagmire of standards and tests that reflect an improper balancing of parents' interests and children's interests.