Authors: John Stonestreet and Dr. Timothy Padgett
Among the many attacks on parental rights in recent years, the National Institutes of Health placed sexually confused youth under the care of “transgender and gender minority” mentors, the Department of Defense promoted trans-ideologies to elementary aged school kids on American military bases, and a federally funded 4-H group instituted a policy to assign sleeping arrangements in an overnight camp based on children’s “gender identity” without notifying parents. But these are just a few of the ways that government officials, medical professionals, and educational activists maneuvered legally to presume rights and responsibilities that belong to parents.
Thankfully, there has been a reprieve from this onslaught on family rights, and even an “open window” of opportunity to stand up for children, parents, and families. Even those who are not fans of the Trump administration should be grateful for an executive order signed on his first day in office pushing back on the radical gender ideology that was being widely promoted and applied by various government agencies under President Biden. As Ryan Bangert of the Alliance Defending Freedom wrote:
President Trump’s new order is clear. It states that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” While this seems so obvious that it shouldn’t need to be said, it is paramount given the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to include “gender identity” under the definition of sex.
On that front, the executive order specifies that the term “sex” in federal law refers to “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female,” not any self-asserted “gender identity.”
That executive order was followed by others, the most notable of which protects children from experimental medical treatments based on this false ideology. Entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” multiple outlets referred to it instead as “a ban on gender-affirming care.” Well-written, clear, and thorough, these orders accomplish several things, not least of which is inhibiting state officials and government agencies from pretending to be parents.
While it is wonderful to see seemingly unassailable ideas beaten back by common sense, especially in the realm of government policy, it is important to remember how fickle common sense can be. This is especially true in the current age of “rule by executive order,” in which what one administration undoes with a pen is as quickly reinstated four years later. The health and wellbeing of children, and the recognition of parental protections, should not be at the mercy of the electorate. Let’s hope we’ve not entered an era in which the state redefines, from one administration to the next, the essential nature of human beings or the substance of a child’s most important relationships.
Congress can help if they are willing to act. The Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act, introduced into the Senate by Senators Tim Scott of South Carolina and James Lankford of Oklahoma and into the House by Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, would legislatively secure parental rights. As Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom described the law,
The Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act restrains federal government overreach by reaffirming the role of parents to guide the upbringing, education, and health care of their children. It also requires federal courts to safeguard parental rights with the same level of protection afforded other fundamental rights, like free speech and religion. … The government should never intrude on parenting choices just because it disagrees with the parents’ viewpoints. Now and always, it’s parents who know their children best, not the government.
Still, to paraphrase Chuck Colson, salvation will neither come on Air Force One nor through the halls of Congress. A Republican Party willing to waver on protecting life in the womb may also waver on protecting children after birth. Contact your representatives and ask them to support The Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act.
Even more important is that parents everywhere assume the God-given responsibilities to teach and protect their children. That is the only way to achieve longer-term victories against these dangerous and destructive ideas. We don’t want to live under a government who presumes to redefine reality, nor in a world tossed “to and fro” by competing executive orders.