Who’s in Charge of Children: Parents or the State?

One of the cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this term involves a Washington State law requiring that when a minor goes to a youth shelter, the parents must be notified, except when it involves a child’s gender “transition.” In such cases, the notification is sent, not to the parents, but to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to support the child’s “transition” — and only later to the parents.

This is a terrible law that violates parental rights and has implications for Catholic education. Pope Saint John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), defined parents as the primary educators of their children, while the Church and state play a supporting role (F.C. 40). He later writes that “the State cannot and must not take away from families the functions that they can just as well perform on their own or in free associations; instead it must positively favor and encourage as far as possible responsible initiative by families” (F.C. 45).

The saintly Holy Father’s words are exactly the opposite of the Washington State law, which says the state knows better and need not notify the parents when their child is in need. A federal district court said that the parents do not have “standing,” meaning that the threat of removing their children from their home without due process is not an immediate enough concern for the parents to file suit. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson on December 7, 2026. Let us pray the Court prioritizes the family over ideology.