When a child is born to unmarried parents in the state of Minnesota, the mother is granted sole legal and physical custody until the father requests differently in the court of law . With this arrangement, the father does not have any legal rights to see the child or make decisions on the child’s behalf.

The law operates this way because fraternal parentage cannot be determined until it is proven medically, or the father signs a Recognition of Parentage document that confirms his relationship. The mother is known to be a parent because she gave birth to the child.

In 2017, out of about 12 million single parents in the United States, around 80 percent of them were single mothers raising children who are under the age of 18. Today, over 17 million children are being raised without a father. Minnesota laws support the mother’s rights and value the children’s well-being overall.

Coming from a two-parent family, I understand the importance of being raised by a team. That being said, it was not perfect by any means, and there are countless children who are not as lucky as I am. Circumstances are different with every child born and Minnesota is right in protecting the mother and child first.

In other states, including Wisconsin, 50-50 custody is sometimes valued over the wellbeing of the child. A 50-50 custody arrangement can be beneficial to the child if the parents have a healthy relationship. By seeing both parents, the child is given equal opportunities to develop a relationship with both parts of their family. If parents are separated amicably and both dedicated to the well-being of the child, it is of course preferred that the child have time with both parents.

Unfortunately, this arrangement just as well can encourage mothers to stay in abusive relationships to protect their children and often allows the court to wait for something to negatively impact the child to change the situation. Watching a close friend go through a custody suit has made me realize how much it can impact the life of a child. In addition to emotional and physical needs of the child, an inappropriate decision for a 50-50 arrangement can result in child support being taken from a single parents income. This 50-50 arrangement would, in the best case scenario, assume that two parents would share financial burden, but many times this is not the case.

The Minnesota legal system is designed to protect people, and its custody laws are no exception. The miracle and responsibility of being a parent is not taken lightly, and children deserve the best chances possible to become a productive member of this world.

Anna Hoffman can be reached at hoff0001@stthomas.edu.