That does indeed make parents incapable of making family decisions.
Your mistake is in assuming that the legislation targets individuals.
It doesn't. It targets corporations that take advantage of individuals.
Legislation does target individuals; it forbids me from choosing money over time. As a person with no desire to stay home for long periods, this directly harms me.
Right, and find a job with completely different terms, which, uh, very likely doesn't exist.
This kind of "everything's a choice" BS really bugs me. There are plenty of situations where regulation is the only solution, and I suspect this is one of them. Since employers use willingness to work long hours as a signal of commitment/productivity, very few people get the choice to work shorter hours, even if almost everybody would be happier that way.
It may not surprise you that I would prefer to make my own choices.