We recently submitted a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear International Partners for Ethical Care, Inc. v. Ferguson, a major case impacting parental rights and religious liberty.
The case involves a challenge to a Washington state law that strips parents of their right to decide what is best for their child. In 2023, the state enacted laws facilitating runaway minors’ access to “gender affirming treatment” without parental notice or consent.
A group of parents who do not wish to expose their children to such treatment challenged these laws on multiple grounds, including infringement of parental rights.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrongly held that parents can’t even bring a legal challenge to a state law that violates their parental rights – until it’s too late, when their child actually runs away from home or tries to undergo irreversible surgery.
Our brief recounts the tragic story of Abigail Martinez, a Christian mom in California who lost custody of her teenager, Yaeli. The state took issue with Abigail’s religious beliefs about sexuality.
Abigail’s story began in 2015, when, at 15, Yaeli began to question her sexuality. She struggled with intense depression for years, and an older transgender friend told her the only way to be happy was to change genders. School staff encouraged her to covertly join the LGBTQ club and hide it from her mom. The school psychologist recommended a gender transition, rather than treatment for her depression.
When Abigail tried to advocate for Yaeli to receive mental health treatment from the school, the school staff rebuffed her. After Yaeli was hospitalized for an attempted suicide, her former principal visited her in the hospital—only to attack her mom, saying, “Is it too hard for you to call your child a new name?”
In 2016, the state took Yaeli away from her home. Abigail was only allowed to visit her child once a week for an hour. Activists from the Los Angeles LGBT Center told Abigail she should “have a funeral for your daughter and adopt your son,” and that if she talked about God during her allotted hour, she would never see her daughter.
By age 19, Yaeli’s depression had not been solved by the attempt at transition. Her pain was too deep, and hormone treatments made it worse. Yaeli eventually committed suicide by kneeling on a train track. The coroner’s office could not even show Abigail what remained of her daughter.
Abigail and Yaeli’s story is gut-wrenching. The government’s imposition into Yaeli’s life against the wishes of her mother denied Abigail the opportunity to treat her daughter’s mental health and likely save her life.
It’s unconscionable for a state to tell parents what to believe and how to raise their children. It’s also unconstitutional. “The Constitution is clear: States cannot target parents because of their religious beliefs, interfere with the religious upbringing of their children, or impose prior restraints on speech in their own homes,” our brief states.
“Our children are not children of the State,’” said First Liberty President & CEO Kelly Shackelford. “When governments usurp the essential role of loving parents in the lives of their children, tragedy ensues.”
Through First Liberty’s brief, Abigail shares her family’s tragic story in hopes that other families will not experience similar heartache from harmful state policies. We hope the Supreme Court agrees to hear this case and protects the right of parents to exercise their religious beliefs freely.
