William and Mary law professor says child-parent relationship only exists because of government

Footage of William and Mary Law School professor James Dwyer suggesting that parenthood is only guaranteed by the government has resurfaced amid increasing calls from the left to restrict parents' rights.

Dwyer, who has long advocated that the state play a more active role in childrens' education, claimed that it was government, not nature, that gave parents the right to raise their children.



"The state needs to be the ultimate guarantor of a child's wellbeing," Dwyer argued, suggesting there was "no alternative." In the video, he was taking aim at those who wanted the government to have less regulatory power over homeschooling.

He went on to claim that "the reason parent-child relationships exist is because the state confers legal parenthood on people through its paternity and maternity laws," adding that "it is the state that is empowering parents to do anything with children; to take them home, to have custody, and to make any kind of decision about that."

The term "our kids" has been bandied about by left-wing politicians as of late as they suggest that parents do not know what's best for their children, and that the nation's youth would fare better if the government called the shots.

The main battleground for this war against parents has been the school, with the government arguing time and time again that it knows best what children ought to be learning.

Dwyer has long held to the belief that parents should not have a say in what their children learn at school, arguing in 2022 that "a realm in which talk of rights is not very helpful to children."

"If the concern is state control over children's minds," he added, "it's worth noting that even if a child attends public school, parents will have exclusive control over 80 percent of the child's awake life."

He suggested that "if parents cannot, in that other 80 percent ... communicate their views, discuss them with the child, explain why they as parents think differently ... then I wonder what's going on in the family."