Changing the Meaning of Motherhood

Ertman responds to McClain's suggestion that we should alter our understandings of care for children to see it as a public value rather than a private responsibility. Ertman both echoes McClain's focus on the importance of finding theoretical and doctrinal grounds for remunerating the work that many primary homemakers do for their families and sounds a note of caution about the majoritarian morality that often accompanies public law solutions. In light of the downside of a public law focus, Ertman explores how private law mechanisms, or public-private hybrids, might serve as alternative means to get financial support to those who need it most: poor women.