Document Type
Brief
Case Name
Jenifer Troxel v. Tommie Granville
Publication Date
12-1999
Abstract
No. 99-138
Jenifer Troxel v. Tommie Granville
On Writ Of Certiorari To The Supreme Court Of Washington
From the Summary of the Argument
The fundamental rights of parents to direct and control the upbringing of their children and the autonomy of the family have been recognized time and again by this Court. These rights and this autonomy are not creatures of positive law, but are grounded in the natural moral order. The family is the "building block" of civil society and has as its natural end, or telos, the nurturing and development of flourishing human persons and good citizens. Given this natural purpose, the rights of the family and of parents to pursue this end must be respected and protected by public authority. In particular, government must not disrupt, intervene in, or second-guess parents' decisions about child-rearing except in grave cases where it is necessary to prevent real harm.
Recommended Citation
Krason, Stephen M. and Garnett, Richard W., "Brief Amicus Curiae of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists in Support of Respondent" (1999). Court Briefs. 102.
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/sct_briefs/102
Included in
Courts Commons, Family Law Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Supreme Court of the United States Commons
Comments
The Society of Catholic Social Scientists ("SCSS") respectfully submits this amicus curiae brief in support of the Respondent, Tommie Granville. We believe the question presented in this case has serious implications for American law and public policy relating to the rights of parents, the integrity of the family, the freedom of religion, and the powers of government.
SCSS is an interdisciplinary association of Catholic social scientists. Its purposes are to pursue and produce knowledge about the social order; to evaluate contemporary social science work in light of Catholic social teachings; to apply these teachings to the challenges posed by modem society; to encourage distinctively Catholic scholarship in the social sciences; and, where appropriate, to put the tools of social science at the service of the Church's evangelizing mission. These purposes reflect and respond to Pope Pius XI' s call over 50 years ago for "the building up of a true Catholic social science." Pope Pius XI, Reconstructing the Social Order 19-20 (1931).