PARENTING LICENCE

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Here’s a summary in bullet points with key quotes from Hugh LaFollette’s 1980 paper, “Licensing Parents”, published in Philosophy and Public Affairs:

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🔑 Core Thesis

• LaFollette argues that just as we license drivers, doctors, and adoptive parents to prevent harm, we should also license biological parents — since parenting can cause serious, preventable harm to children.

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📌 Key Points & Quotes

• Parenting has a serious impact on others (children)

  “Parenting is an activity potentially very harmful to others.”
  Like medicine or driving, it can cause irreversible damage if done poorly.

• We already license people in other harm-prone domains

  “If we license all who engage in activities that are potentially harmful to others... then we must also license parents.”
  Not licensing biological parents is an inconsistency in our moral and legal practices.

• Children are vulnerable and defenseless

  “Children are uniquely unable to protect themselves or to seek legal redress.”
  This makes proactive protection (like licensing) especially important.

• Being a biological parent doesn't guarantee competence

  “The ability to procreate is no guarantee of the ability to parent.”
  Many people have children without preparation or the emotional resources to care for them properly.

• Licensing isn't about perfection — it’s about minimum competence

  “We would not require parents to be ideal... only that they be minimally competent.”
  Similar to how we don’t demand perfect drivers, just safe ones.

• Concerns about implementation (e.g., abuse, discrimination) are real but manageable

  “All licensing systems are open to abuse. But that is not sufficient reason for abandoning them.”
  These risks are not greater than in other licensing systems.

• Adoptive parents already undergo licensing — so the principle exists

  “We already license adoptive parents. Why treat natural parents differently?”
  This shows we accept the legitimacy of parenting licenses in at least some contexts.

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🧠 Conclusion

• LaFollette concludes that a just society should implement a parental licensing system, not to punish but to prevent severe harm to children and protect their fundamental interests.

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They considered how many people experience a strong inner sense that life should offer more than just temporary pleasures — a yearning for a deeper, more stable form of well-being that remains steady even in the face of life’s challenges.

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