November 29th, 2023
Advancing American Freedom filed an amicus brief defending the rights of an Indiana couple whose son, who had recently begun identifying as transgender, was removed from their custody. The Indiana Department of Child Services (“DCS”) and the court initially based this separation on claims of parental abuse and neglect. Despite later agreeing to drop all claims of abuse and neglect against the parents, DCS nonetheless asked the court not to return the couple’s son to their custody. The court complied with this request on the grounds that their son’s eating disorder and other health concerns were related to his parent’s lack of support for his asserted gender identity.
“America’s youth are experiencing mental health problems like never before. It is the job of parents, not the state, to address this growing crisis,” said J. Marc Wheat, AAF General Counsel. “Indiana’s decision was based on an ideology that endangers both parents and children. Removing a child from the family home should be a last resort for the safety of the child, not a tool to coerce parental acquiescence to woke gender theory.”
Advancing American Freedom has been a leading advocate for parental rights in cases across the United States. Advancing American Freedom has filed amicus briefs supporting parental rights in ongoing litigation in Iowa, Massachusetts, Florida, and in multiple cases in federal courts.
You can read the brief here.
