Parenting rights, child supervision and the law

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Guests: Dorothy Roberts, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Mark Zonfrillo

A New Jersey woman was arrested for leaving her toddler in the car while she bought party supplies. The New Jersey Supreme Court has decided to hear her appeal to consider whether her actions constitute child abuse or just bad judgment. Other recent cases raise similar questions – a South Carolina mom arrested for allowing her 9-year old to play at a park while she went to work, an Ohio father charged with child endangerment when his son skipped a church service to play with friends. Today we look at what some are calling the “criminalization of parenthood” with DOROTHY ROBERTS, Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and MARIE MYUNG-OK LEE, a creative writing instructor at Columbia University who wrote the recent article “The day I was nearly arrested for having an autistic son.” Also, Marty talks to MARK ZONFRILLO, a pediatric emergency physician from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, about the dangers of leaving children in cars.

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