Illegitimacy

Illegitimacy was a term in common usage for the condition of being born of parents who are not validly married to one another; the legal term is bastardy. That status could be changed (in either direction) by civil law or canon law (see Princes in the Tower for an example of the former). In some locations, marriage of an illegitimate child's parents after his or her birth results in his or her legitimation (changing the legal status to special bastardy).

Parental responsibility

In the UK the notion of bastardy was effectively abolished by the introduction of The Children Act 1989 (which came into force in 1991), by virtue of introducing the concept of parental responsibility which ensures that a child can have a legal father even if that child's parents were not married. However it was not until December 2003, with the implementation of parts of http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/20020038.htm The Adoption and Children Act 2002, that parental responsibility was automatically granted to fathers of children born out of wedlock, and even then, only if the father's name appears on the birth certificate.

Related Topics:
UK - The Children Act - Birth certificate

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Recently, some people in the U.S. have taken to stigmatizing the parents, rather than the child, by labeling the parents, "Bastard Parents" (because they are ultimately responsible for the actions that caused an out of wedlock pregnancy to occur in the first place). Cultural commentator and radio talk show host Michael Medved advocates this stagmatization, especially in the case of "Celebrity Bastard Parents".

Related Topics:
Michael Medved - Celebrity Bastard Parents

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