Bala on Children's DNA

Nila Bala (The Policing Project) has posted Who Owns Children's DNA? on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

This Article examines the control and use of children’s DNA as an analytic exploration, asking who owns children’s DNA. In doing so, I bridge gaps between three different literatures: family law, criminal law, and property. I argue that we should conceive of DNA as property, and with respect to children, DNA as their own property. If DNA is conceptualized as the child’s property, it recognizes the importance and value of DNA, while leading to much stronger safeguards against law enforcement encroachment than current laws provide. A property interest is also why parental consent is insufficient to expose and relinquish children’s DNA to law enforcement. Providing for a property interest in children’s DNA reflects the importance of moving away from a framework of ownership to one of stewardship—in both the way we think of children’s DNA, but also the way we think of children themselves.