29 Facts About Linda McClain

Linda McClain was born on 1958 and is the Robert B Kent Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law.

Linda McClain graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Oberlin College in 1980.

Linda McClain continued her education at the University of Chicago Divinity School, graduating with a master's degree in religious studies.

Linda McClain began teaching at Boston University School of Law in 2007.

Linda McClain is a member of the American Law Institute, where she participates in the Members Consultative Group for the Restatement of the Law, Children and the Law.

Linda McClain was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1986.

Linda McClain and Fleming examine a line of Supreme Court abortion cases, an area communitarians identify with absolute rights, and note that the balancing of individual rights and state interests is taking place, not the application of strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, or the rational basis test.

Tolerance of different approaches, which Linda McClain has argued should be "toleration as respect" as opposed to grudging tolerance, should only be disrupted if a policy is supported by the best reasons provided through public debate.

Linda McClain and Fleming have argued that, when the consequences of not having a choice would negatively impact individuals in a personal way, denying individuals that choice would create moral harm.

Linda McClain has defended liberalism against feminist critique that encouraging autonomy leads to socially disconnected individuals, arguing that, although rights necessarily create some protective space between individuals, liberal theory allows for interdependency that can result in increased individual self-worth and respect amongst individuals.

When religions proscribe rights and responsibilities associated with marriage, Linda McClain has argued that these religious communities be exempt from secular domestic relations law instead of trying to fit the religious law within state law.

Linda McClain has examined the language surrounding the decision to have an abortion in legal decisions, noting that when the US Supreme Court listed non-life-threatening reasons for abortion, such as convenience and not wanting children, it implied that the pregnant woman's desires outweighed the fetus's possible life.

Linda McClain has written about how abortion opponents describe the decision to have an abortion as an "irresponsible" choice.

Linda McClain rejects this idea, instead saying that many women choose to have an abortion because they believe it would be wrong to bring a child into their current social and economic situation.

Linda McClain believes irresponsible language is applied to women who choose to give birth.

Linda McClain has discussed how descriptions of single mothers, teenage mothers, and mothers receiving welfare as irresponsible has led to beliefs that single mothers are immoral.

Linda McClain has asserted that examining abortion through a relational feminist lens puts abortion rights at risk by encouraging women to be legally required to take on traditional responsibilities.

Linda McClain believes government has an obligation to expose children to teachings that vary from their parents' beliefs to encourage open-mindedness and critical thinking.

Linda McClain has advocated that governments look beyond marriage and the traditional nuclear family structure when devising programs to help families, so that all types of families' needs are recognized and considered important.

Linda McClain's book, The Place of Families: Fostering Capacity, Equality, and Responsibility, is "a feminist vision of the family in moral terms", and has been placed between critical feminist theories that seek to discontinue government regulation of marriage and those legal scholars, such as Margaret Brinig and Milton Regan, who favor continued state-governed marriage.

Linda McClain's work emphasizes equality across different family structures as important for society.

Linda McClain believes government persuasion is needed to create the appropriate environment by helping working parents through parental leave and subsidies for higher quality care.

Linda McClain addressed this criticism in a subsequent article, where she acknowledged the channelling function of family law, encouraging people to marry, sometimes conflicts with fairness, but that channelling is still a legitimate purpose of family law, and marriage is something individuals in non-traditional families still strive for.

Linda McClain has responded to empirical evidence that women in "traditional" gender role marriages are more satisfied that women in egalitarian relationships, noting that women in traditional marriages likely have lower expectations that are met, whereas women in egalitarian relationships have higher expectations that are met less often.

Linda McClain has considered compensation for care work, arguing that raising children well instills traits that allow them to participate in democratic government.

Linda McClain has examined how women respond to inequality by caring for the disadvantaged, which itself generates societal value.

However, while women have traditionally been the primary caretakers, Linda McClain believes government programming should encourage both genders to engage in this important work.

Linda McClain believes caring for children alone is a valuable contribution to society and has criticized the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act for requiring paid work contributions in addition to care work.

However, Linda McClain's recommendations are not simply compensating parents for the caretaking functions they perform; she has argued that caring for children should be considered a public function that is part of good self-government, and as such, society should do more to support parent education, work-life balance, and employment issues in the child care industry.