Parents have the right to raise and care for their children without undue interference from the government. Unfortunately, many examples of interference surround us, and that’s precisely why the Missouri Parental Rights Act (SB 948 and HB 2426) is so needed.
Take, for example, the circumstances that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor that recognize parents’ right to opt their child out of objectionable curriculum and to be notified if their child wants to adopt an identity that does not align with the child’s sex.
In other cases, parents have been denied access to their adolescent’s medical records unless the child gives permission, and some public schools have required students to share overnight accommodations with the opposite sex without their parents’ knowledge. These are just a few of the many tragic instances of government trampling the fundamental rights of parents.
When bureaucrats are allowed to override the decisions of fit parents, parents suffer the erosion of a pre-political right: their fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing, health care, mental health care, and education. Missouri families deserve protection from such unjust interference. And that is what the Missouri Parental Rights Act accomplishes.
Parents’ rights and corresponding responsibilities existed long before government. These pre-political rights are entitled to the same heightened level of legal protection afforded other unalienable rights, like religious liberty or freedom of speech. Parents don’t need the government’s permission to fulfill their God-given duty to their children.
But in recent years, the strong deference to parental decision-making began evaporating as America’s secular, anti-religious culture grew. In the assumed absence of God, people turned to government for provision and instruction, as well as “rights” distribution. Intrusive governmental influence multiplied.
Parental rights aren’t only worthy of respect; they are an important barrier to such intrusive influences. To ignore the importance of bolstering parental rights, and by extension appeasing the effort to weaken this barrier, is to welcome George Orwell’s pigs and their agenda.
How does the Missouri bill bolster parental rights?
First, it recognizes parental rights as fundamental, entitled to the highest level of protection under law. Parents have and raise children. Children aren’t the product of government. Thankfully, for over 100 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized this foundational truth, recognizing that parents have a fundamental right to direct the care, education, and upbringing of their children.
Good news? Yes. Why is there a need then for the Missouri Parental Rights Act? Because the Supreme Court didn’t answer the question of what level of protection these rights receive under the Constitution. That punts the question to state law. And unfortunately, Missouri receives a failing grade when it comes to statutory protection to secure parental rights.
Without the statutory requirement of “strict scrutiny,” what the U.S. Supreme Court has deemed as fundamental gets treated as a lesser right. As a result, Missouri courts resort to requiring a “rational basis”—the lowest judicial standard—from governing authorities, to resolve parental rights cases.
The erosion of parental rights will persist until we require the strictest scrutiny of governmental action that unjustly inserts itself into the family. This standard strikes the right balance between strong deference to parental authority while still permitting the state to step in when it has a compelling interest—such as protecting a child from physical or sexual abuse.
Unfortunately, we’ve witnessed bureaucrats, and their proxies, allow the exception to swallow the rule. They presume that, because some parents abuse their children, every parent is suspect, and their rights to guide their children’s upbringing, care, and education should be curtailed.
But the U.S. Supreme Court rejected this dangerous presumption in Parham v. J.R., cautioning that, “the statist notion that governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is repugnant to American tradition.” This repugnant notion can’t continue.
Parental rights are fundamental and government actors should have a high bar to clear before burdening those rights. The government must establish a compelling interest before interfering with parental decision-making and must use the least restrictive means possible to address its concerns. By doing so, we ensure that Missouri parents are respected.
Second, the Missouri Parental Rights Act protects the full scope of parental rights. States often enact only narrow slices of parental rights, like a parent’s access to public school curriculum. Though important, these efforts miss the larger picture. Parental rights extend beyond education, to the health, mental health, and moral upbringing of their children. Our laws must respect those rights in every area of life.
Third, the bill provides a legal remedy for parents whose rights are violated. Without legal accountability, parental rights will still be trampled. Access to courts plays a crucial role in protecting other rights like speech and religious liberty; it will do the same for parental rights.
The Missouri Parental Rights Act ensures that Missouri families will enjoy the full freedom to flourish. More than 20 states already secure parental rights for their residents. Missouri’s legislature must act now to prevent further violations of parental rights.
Missouri parents know what is best for their children and should be empowered to raise the next generation without government interference. Any other assumption is repugnant to our nation’s history and legal tradition.
State government relations manager for Alliance Defending Freedom and its sister organization ADF Action. He served for 26 years as a pastor and for six years in Missouri’s House of Representatives. Follow Doug on X @DougRichey or follow ADF @ADFLegal.
