Interrogating the Bioethics of Family Policing

This session is generously supported by the University of Pennsylvania.

Although the child welfare system is considered by many to be a benevolent social service provider, it is better understood as a “family policing” system that surveils, regulates, and punishes struggling families—especially those that are Black and Indigenous—rather than supporting them. Doctors and other health care professionals are chief reporters of suspected child maltreatment, triggering traumatic investigations and family separations, deterring families from getting needed help, and reinforcing social inequalities. By interrogating the bioethics of family policing, we can reimagine policies that shape the relationship between the state, families, and health care.