University Park, Pa. -- Penn State Press's new anthology, "Having and Raising Children: Unconventional Families, Hard Choices, and the Social Good," looks at familial relationships between parents and children and challenges a number of important moral, social and political issues.

Edited by Julia J. Bartkowiak and Uma Narayan, the book addresses topics such as the rights of unwed fathers, the nature of children's autonomy, children's rights to divorce their parents, parental rights with respect to medical treatment and religious education of children, surrogate parenting, same-sex parenting and single-parent families.

• Iris Marion Young's article," Mothers, Citizenship and Independence: A Critique of Pure Family Values," argues against views that regard the "intact two-parent heterosexual family" as the preferred family form.
• In "Fathers' Rights, Mothers' Wrongs -- Reflections on Unwed Fathers' Rights and Sex Equality," Mary L. Shanley examines the issue of fathers' rights in legal contexts where unwed biological fathers attempt to reverse the biological mother's decision to place the child up for adoption.
• Uma Narayan explores a variety of criticisms leveled at the practice of commercial surrogacy in "Family Ties: Rethinking Parental Claims in the Light of Surrogacy and Custody."
• In "A Parent(ly) Knot: Can Heather Have Two Mommies?" Shelley A.M. Gavigan looks at the ramifications of "family ideology" with respect to the families of lesbian parents and legal responses to conflicts over parental rights in lesbian households.
• Brenda Almond's "Family Relationships and Reproductive Technology" argues for the view that it would be a mistake to assume that biological parenthood has no significance.
• Anita Allen's "Privacy and Equal Protection as Bases for Abortion Law: Citizenship, Gender, and the Constitution" revisits the controversial territory of abortion rights-rights that ar
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