ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This paper attempts to review children's rights under US Constitution. In the US Constitution, there is no such word as children. Until the 1960s, the US Supreme Court too did not recognize children's rights under the Constitution. From the end of the 1960s, however, the Court started to recognize children's rights in various situation. The Court partially upheld children's right in the abortion cases, First Amendment cases, and several Bill of Rights cases. The recognition of children's right under the Constitution has its limits simply because the children themselves may not exercise because of their immaturity and the lack of capacity of independent action. In addition, the children's rights has inherent conflicts with the constitutional rights of parent to raise their children in the way which they see fit. The children's right also conflicts with state's interest to regulate children's activities based on health purpose. Therefore, although the children's rights have been recognized by the Court, they are limited and may vary depending on the issues involved. The Court has generally upheld parents rights at the expense of children's right when both constitutional rights are in conflict.

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