America First Legal has entered the fray to support parents in resisting woke agendas aimed at eroding parental rights and duties. Their current focus is on Washington State officials, who have recently advocated for and approved Senate Bill 5599. This legislation permits minors to pursue abortion or gender transition medical procedures without notifying their parents.
Stephen Miller, leader of America First Legal (AFL), says the organization “is proud to defend parental rights and stand up against the insidious ‘gender-affirming care’ agenda, which promotes using experimental medical procedures and drugs on minor children – potentially altering their lives forever.”
Miller argues SB5599 “creates a dangerous incentive for minors who disagree with their parents on ‘gender-affirming care’ to run away to a shelter or host home.”
AFL’s legal action contests the recently enacted law, which Governor Jay Inslee signed, citing that lawmakers passed the bill to safeguard and empower vulnerable youth identifying as transgender who are seeking necessary medical treatment.
According to The Daily Wire’s report, Miller and numerous parents in the state hold a differing viewpoint, asserting that the bill strengthens the state’s authority rather than genuinely aiding at-risk transgender youth. Parents have also pointed out that the bill includes provisions for abortion services, which isn’t a primary concern for the demographic the bill purportedly aims to protect.
AFL’s CEO did not mince words in denouncing Washington State leaders for their direct assault on parental rights. Miller remarked:
“No state action more frighteningly illustrates the threat to our children than this law. This sick, authoritarian law essentially allows the state to kidnap children from their parents and hide their whereabouts to surgically and chemically mutilate them — and to formally deprive their parents of any legal ability to stop the medical disfigurement of their sons and daughters by gender extremists targeting their children.”
/1🚨BREAKING — we sued the governor of Washington @GovInslee to block enforcement of a new “state-sanctioned kidnapping” bill that allows the state to hide kids from their parents to perform “gender transitions” – including disfiguring drugs and mutilating surgeries.
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) August 16, 2023
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Under the new legislation, shelters and “host homes” are permitted to withhold information about a child’s whereabouts from their parents if the child asserts they are escaping guardians who disapprove of a sex-change operation or abortion.
Instead of informing parents about the child’s location or their intent to undergo an abortion or gender transition, the shelter or host home is now obligated to inform the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families, which will provide assistance to the youth in obtaining their desired medical procedures.
The bill, championed by state Senator Marko Liias (D), received approval in the House with a 57-39 vote and in the Senate with a 29-20 vote. Liias also holds a role as co-chair of the LGBTQ caucus.
Celebrating the passage of the bill, Liias said in a press release: “Every child – including our trans youth – deserves to be safe at home. In a perfect world, that is the case, but unfortunately, that is not the reality.
Liias added: “This legislation affirms our commitment to ensuring children have a safe and stable place to go when they are not welcome at home.”
The lawsuit filed by AFL specifically focuses on Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Washington’s Attorney General Robert Furguson, and Ross Hunter, the secretary of the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
On behalf of parents, the legal action contends that the recent law “denies certain parents their fundamental rights under the United States Constitution to oversee and nurture their children’s well-being and upbringing.”
