Sixteen states have drawn a firm line in defense of parental authority and child protection: No minor should ever be subjected to life-altering gender reassignment procedures or abortions — especially without their parents’ full knowledge and consent. Yet Washington state’s Senate Bill 5599 — widely condemned across the nation as a “state-sanctioned kidnapping” law — does exactly the opposite. It empowers runaway minors to vanish into state-funded shelters to receive taxpayer-supported “gender-affirming” interventions or abortions, all while cutting their parents out entirely.
Led by Florida and Idaho, a coalition of 16 states is taking the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court after having filed an amicus brief that urges the justices to reverse the Ninth Circuit ruling that allowed the law to stay in effect and restore the constitutional bedrock of parental rights.
Many view Washington’s law, bankrolled by taxpayers, as a representation of a dangerous government overreach that severs the sacred bond between parent and child. “Parental rights are fundamental and foundational,” read the amicus brief. “It is parents who are entrusted with ultimate responsibility for the care, formation, and well-being of their children, not the government.”
The brief went on to highlight what many see as the nightmare scenario created by SB 5599: “Parental rights have taken on new focus in Washington, where youth shelters may choose not to notify parents of their child’s safety, health, or location so long as their runaway child seeks ‘gender-affirming treatment.’ This unfortunate phenomenon harms parents by denying their right to consent to or refuse treatment for their child.”
And while Washington used to require shelters to at least notify parents of runaway youth, SB 5599 rewrote the script. Now, children pursuing what the state considers “protected health care services” — such as abortions and gender reassignment procedures — have a perceived right to do so free from parental guidance or influence. In fact, some parents aren’t even told if their child is alive.
The coalition reminded the high court of its own precedent in the landmark 2000 case Troxel v. Granville, which declared that “the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children” is “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.” As the brief stressed, “Our Constitution places the burden on States to respect fundamental rights, not on citizens to claw back the right to parent their own children.”
SB 5599 was first challenged in federal court in 2023. A lower court dismissed the case, and by summer 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that dismissal, leaving the law intact. “The Ninth Circuit would not correct Washington’s trampling of parental rights,” the brief asserted, “but this Court should.” The states called on SCOTUS to “intervene to secure parental rights nationwide,” acknowledge that “parental rights are some of the oldest fundamental rights that this Court has recognized and play a bedrock role in American society,” and to emphasize that “the Ninth Circuit should have held that Washington’s encroachment on parental rights was sufficient for Petitioners to have standing.”
And yet, this isn’t just a Washington problem. As some see it, this is a warning to every state. If left unchecked, this radical experiment in government-sponsored family separation could spread, encouraging more states to treat parents as obstacles rather than the first and best line of defense for their children. The coalition of 16 states is standing united for the timeless truth that parents, not bureaucrats or activist shelters, know what is best for their sons and daughters.
In comments to The Washington Stand, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador (R), whose state is spearheading the coalition alongside Florida, delivered a clear message: “We’re urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Washington’s law that strips parents of their most basic rights. Under this law, shelters can hide runaway children and help them get irreversible gender surgeries and hormone treatments while never needing to notify parents where their child is or what’s happening to them. We’re asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit and restore the constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing and medical care of their children.”
The Supreme Court now has the opportunity to reaffirm what America has always known: Parental rights are not privileges granted by government but are God-given, constitutionally protected rights that are essential to a free society. Thus far, SCOTUS has addressed taking up the case. So, whether the justices will act to protect America’s families has many on the edge of their seats.
