Melissa Moschella
Melissa Moschella is a philosopher whose work spans the fields of ethics, political philosophy, and law. Her areas of special expertise include natural law theory, biomedical ethics, and the family (especially parental rights).
Even prior to joining the faculty at the MICL, Melissa has been a frequent collaborator with the Notre Dame Office of Life and Human Dignity and the Science & Religion Initiative. She will continue to contribute to the mission of the MICL through her research, writing, teaching, and public speaking on a variety of contemporary topics, such as religious freedom, reproductive technologies, life issues, and issues related to marriage and family. Melissa is also affiliated with the Business, Ethics, and Society Program in the Mendoza School of Business, where she teaches on a regular basis. Before coming to Notre Dame, Melissa was Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, where she worked for over a decade.
Melissa’s first book, To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education, and Children’s Autonomy (Cambridge University Press, 2016), offers a foundational account of the nature and basis of parental rights, and argues that parents (not the state) have primary responsibility and authority to direct the education and upbringing of their children. Her second book, Ethics, Politics, and Natural Law: Principles for Human Flourishing (University of Notre Dame Press, forthcoming Spring 2025) offers a fresh and accessible yet rigorous presentation of the influential natural law account of ethics and politics that has come to be known as “new natural law theory.” Melissa has also published numerous articles in scholarly journals as well as popular media outlets, including Bioethics, The Journal of Medical Ethics, The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Notre Dame Law Review, The Journal of Law and Religion, The Public Discourse, First Things, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post. She serves as Associate Editor of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, on the editorial board of the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, and on the editorial advisory board of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, earned a Licentiate in Philosophy summa cum laude from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and received her Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Princeton University.
When she is not busy with her academic pursuits, Melissa enjoys singing (especially choral singing), playing the piano, gardening, cooking, biking, and hiking. She lives in South Bend with her husband, David Cloutier, an expert in Catholic social ethics who is a Professor in the Department of Theology and is also affiliated with the Business, Ethics, and Society Program in the Mendoza School of Business.
Even prior to joining the faculty at the MICL, Melissa has been a frequent collaborator with the Notre Dame Office of Life and Human Dignity and the Science & Religion Initiative. She will continue to contribute to the mission of the MICL through her research, writing, teaching, and public speaking on a variety of contemporary topics, such as religious freedom, reproductive technologies, life issues, and issues related to marriage and family. Melissa is also affiliated with the Business, Ethics, and Society Program in the Mendoza School of Business, where she teaches on a regular basis. Before coming to Notre Dame, Melissa was Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, where she worked for over a decade.
Melissa’s first book, To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education, and Children’s Autonomy (Cambridge University Press, 2016), offers a foundational account of the nature and basis of parental rights, and argues that parents (not the state) have primary responsibility and authority to direct the education and upbringing of their children. Her second book, Ethics, Politics, and Natural Law: Principles for Human Flourishing (University of Notre Dame Press, forthcoming Spring 2025) offers a fresh and accessible yet rigorous presentation of the influential natural law account of ethics and politics that has come to be known as “new natural law theory.” Melissa has also published numerous articles in scholarly journals as well as popular media outlets, including Bioethics, The Journal of Medical Ethics, The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Notre Dame Law Review, The Journal of Law and Religion, The Public Discourse, First Things, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post. She serves as Associate Editor of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, on the editorial board of the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, and on the editorial advisory board of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, earned a Licentiate in Philosophy summa cum laude from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and received her Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Princeton University.
When she is not busy with her academic pursuits, Melissa enjoys singing (especially choral singing), playing the piano, gardening, cooking, biking, and hiking. She lives in South Bend with her husband, David Cloutier, an expert in Catholic social ethics who is a Professor in the Department of Theology and is also affiliated with the Business, Ethics, and Society Program in the Mendoza School of Business.
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a strong prima facie right to be raised by them. This is because genetic
parents, by virtue of their genetic connection to their children, have an
intimate and permanent personal relationship to those children at the
bodily level. As a result, the absence of genetic parents' love (understood
as a high-priority commitment to the child's well-being) is a significant
harm to children. This view presupposes that human beings are rational
animal organisms. This essay provides a brief defense of this metaphysical premise, then explains the connection between that premise and the moral claim that genetic parents have an absolute obligation to love their genetic children. Except in cases of incompetence, this obligation can only be fulfilled by raising those children themselves. Donor conception is therefore always an injustice, because it intentionally deprives a child of the important right to be loved by his or her biological parents.
a strong prima facie right to be raised by them. This is because genetic
parents, by virtue of their genetic connection to their children, have an
intimate and permanent personal relationship to those children at the
bodily level. As a result, the absence of genetic parents' love (understood
as a high-priority commitment to the child's well-being) is a significant
harm to children. This view presupposes that human beings are rational
animal organisms. This essay provides a brief defense of this metaphysical premise, then explains the connection between that premise and the moral claim that genetic parents have an absolute obligation to love their genetic children. Except in cases of incompetence, this obligation can only be fulfilled by raising those children themselves. Donor conception is therefore always an injustice, because it intentionally deprives a child of the important right to be loved by his or her biological parents.