Tag: Legal Fatherhood

Paternal Mortality Is a Family Health Crisis. Georgia’s Legitimation Law Makes It Worse.

The argument against Georgia’s legitimation structure has often been framed around access: Fathers need the ability to parent, visit, make decisions, and participate. That remains true. But a recent JAMA Pediatrics paper forces us to add another layer. 

In the event of paternal death, legitimation is a child protection issue. It’s about what remains legally intact when a father is no longer alive to argue, petition, explain, prove, or correct the record.

A child shouldn’t have to lose a father twice: once to death and a second time to an outdated law.