As families shake out the last grains of sand from their kids’ shoes while their children bounce off the walls claiming to be “bored,” parents can now glimpse the upcoming joy of routine schedules, carpool lines, and after-school event coordination. It’s back-to-school time.
Of course, parents aren’t the only ones gearing up for school. So are teachers and school administrators, many of whom will make an enormous difference for the kids they love and educate this year. But as anyone paying attention knows, some officials care more about pushing harmful ideology than providing education. And governments across our country are backing these efforts with the force of law by pushing gender ideology on parents and children.
Take California’s recently signed “<a href="https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2024/07/24/orwellian_california_safety_act_isnt_safe_for_parents_or_children_1046898.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAFETY Act</a>.” This misnamed law forbids schools from requiring staff to discuss a child’s gender dysphoria with parents unless the child gives permission. The law targeted several California districts that recently created good parental notification policies—essentially declaring those policies unlawful. Just think. For children struggling to understand and develop, this law effectively endorses hiding vital information from parents about their own kids.
And this isn’t an isolated policy. Alliance Defending Freedom, where I serve as vice president of litigation strategy, is litigating a <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/vitsaxaki-v-skaneateles-central-school-district?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number</a> of <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/mead-v-rockford-public-school-district?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped">cases</a> where parents have discovered that it is school policy to “socially transition” children without parental consent. In one <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/tf-and-bf-v-kettle-moraine-school-district?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">instance</a>, a mother sought to help her daughter work through her struggles without a “social transition,” and her daughter grew more comfortable with her body — but only after she withdrew her daughter from school after the district insisted that staff refer to the young woman as a male.
Of course, the Biden-Harris administration isn’t satisfied to leave the issue to the states, as it passed a rule to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.” In one of <a href="https://adfmedia.org/case/biden-administration-title-ix-rule-change?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five lawsuits</a> filed by ADF against this rule change, an 11-year-old girl <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/state-kansas-v-us-department-education?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> a boy in the school restroom and was so scarred by the experience that she only felt safe by waiting until getting home to use the restroom—which could take nearly nine hours. This is the reality facing girls in restrooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms on overnight trips if the rule change stands.
Meanwhile, in the medical sphere, government officials are pushing this ideology harder than ever. Recent emails became public exposing that Rachel Levine—the head of the Biden-Harris administration’s Health and Human Services department — <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/06/26/us-news/biden-administration-official-rachel-levine-pressured-medical-experts-to-remove-age-limit-guidelines-for-transgender-surgery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressured</a> medical groups to remove age limits on dangerous and even sterilizing surgeries trying to alter children’s bodies to make them look like the opposite sex. The FDA’s clinical team leader at the Division of General Endocrinology Products has <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/01/exclusive-fda-leader-backed-puberty-blockers-kids-despite-finding-increased-risk-suicidality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommended</a> the FDA approve of puberty blockers for teens despite knowing of an “increase in depression and suicidality” linked to the drugs.
Not willing to stop there, the Biden-Harris administration also adopted a rule change to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that attempts to redefine “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity.” That change would force doctors to perform these harmful, sterilizing procedures and would require States and insurers to foot the bill. ADF has already filed <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/mccomb-childrens-clinic-v-becerra?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three</a> different <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/state-florida-v-us-department-health-and-human-services?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuits</a> to <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/state-missouri-v-becerra?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintain</a> sound health practices and common sense in federal law. So far, <a href="https://adflegal.org/press-release/courts-ms-and-fl-halt-biden-admins-illegal-attempt-redefine-sex-federal-law?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the courts</a> have issued a nationwide pause on enforcement as the lawsuits proceed.
Joining the federal government are over 20 states and roughly 100 cities and counties that have banned efforts to counsel kids who want help to grow comfortable with their bodies. While many of these states allow doctors to inflict life-altering surgeries and drugs on children, and allow counselors to push these procedures on kids and parents, these states simultaneously ban counselors from talking with and helping minors who want to grow comfortable with their bodies. And that is true even though <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/102/11/3869/4157558?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener">respected authorities</a> continuously find that pre-pubertal children who express confusion naturally grow out of their dysphoria as they mature, as long as no one interferes with the natural process of puberty. Indeed, counseling is a far more effective and safer treatment for these kids than running to the surgeon.
Ironically, while the Biden-Harris administration and their many allies rush full-steam ahead on trying to convince children they have the wrong body, the rest of the world has already put the brakes on. Nations like Finland, Sweden, and Norway, for example, are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2023/12/02/europe-and-us-diverge-on-treatment-of-gender-incongruence-in-minors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heavily restricting</a> these procedures that fall under the “gender identity” umbrella. In England, a lawsuit involving <a href="https://www.persuasion.community/p/keira-bell-my-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Keira Bell</a> and her ideologically-infused rush into cross-sex procedures led to the National Health Institute <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62335665" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closing its gender clinic</a>, followed by an <a href="https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">independent review</a> by Dr. Hilary Cass. The Cass review concluded that medical advice rushing kids into these procedures is marked by “remarkably weak evidence.” England then banned puberty blockers for minors outside clinical trials, which was quickly <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ng3gz99nwo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upheld </a>by an English court.
If the tide has turned internationally, what’s being done to push back against the ideologues here in our country? A lot. Twenty-six states have now banned at least some of these dangerous procedures trying to alter children’s bodies, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/19/us/new-hampshire-gender-transition-surgery-ban.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Hampshire</a> being the latest. The Texas Supreme Court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/us/texas-transgender-ban-minors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upheld</a> one of these laws recently, agreeing with two federal appellate courts that had already done so. Eyes now turn to the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently agreed to <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/united-states-v-skrmetti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hear a case</a> out of Tennessee that could set national precedent. The stakes are dangerously high for America’s parents and children.
It&#8217;s getting harder to find school officials and medical professionals who will give children the best possible care rather than push harmful ideology. Parents need to be aware of the dangers facing children in this brave new world, but as we’ve seen, a number of brave Americans see the writing on the wall and are taking a stand for truth and common sense.
* * *
Jonathan Scruggs is senior counsel and vice president of litigation strategy with <a href="http://www.adflegal.org/?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alliance Defending Freedom</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/ADFLegal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@ADFLegal</a>).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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How Gender Ideology Is Reshaping Our Schools And Health Care System

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Imagine an on-fire progressive named Amy decides to pursue her dreams and start a company that writes speeches for progressive politicians and non-profits. Her goal is simple: Use her talents to help promote the policies she believes in and lives by. But just three weeks after the company launch, a local politician asks her to write an Independence Day speech endorsing Donald Trump.
What should she do? Easy answer, right. No way would Amy do that.
But what if a local law required her to write that speech? What if a law forced Amy to use her talents to advocate for the very ideas she detests most? And what if that law fined Amy $500 per day until she submitted the speech?
Impossible? Too far-fetched? Well, it’s happening in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Two conservatives, Grant Strobl and Jacob Chludzinski, recently started a political consulting firm called <a href="http://www.thinkrightstrategies.com/">ThinkRight Strategies LLC</a>. ThinkRight offers to do things like write speeches and draft Facebook posts that support conservative positions. But an Ann Arbor law forbids public accommodations (entities like businesses that serve the public) from “discriminating” on the basis of political beliefs. And that means ThinkRight cannot legally decline to create material supporting progressive causes. That would be illegal “discrimination.” And the law fines violators up to $500 per day until they comply.
But Ann Arbor’s law doesn’t just affect conservatives. Under this law, a Jewish speechwriter who offers her services publicly cannot decline to write a speech advocating for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel. A pro-abortion consultant cannot decline to design fliers criticizing abortion on behalf of pro-life political candidates. A progressive writer cannot refuse to praise President Trump’s immigration policies in a speech.
That’s not just wrong. It’s egregious. No one should be forced to express a message she disagrees with as the price of earning a living.
Public accommodation laws exist to make sure no one gets kicked out of a restaurant because of sex — or barred from a hotel because of race. These laws exist to combat actual status discrimination. They were never meant to compel people to promote positions with which they disagree.
When these laws start requiring that, they’re no longer combatting discrimination. They’re mandating certain views — and punishing people who believe differently than do those in power.
This hurts everybody. Once the government has this kind of power, no one’s beliefs are safe; just because a view is allowed today, what’s to stop the government from switching its target tomorrow? The only way to preserve our freedom to live and work in accordance with our deepest convictions is to advocate for that freedom for everybody.
Unfortunately, Ann Arbor isn’t the only government trying to force people to express beliefs with which they disagree.
In Colorado, <a href="https://adflegal.org/detailspages/case-details/masterpiece-cakeshop-v.-elenis">cake artist Jack Phillips</a> lost all of his wedding business — over 40% of his annual revenue — because the government tried to force him to violate his conscience and design a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. In Phoenix, Arizona, <a href="https://adflegal.org/detailspages/case-details/brush-nib-studio-v.-city-of-phoenix">calligrapher Joanna Duka and painter Breana Koski</a> face up to six months in jail because they can’t handcraft wedding vows that celebrate same-sex marriage. And in Minnesota, <a href="https://adflegal.org/detailspages/case-details/telescope-media-group-v.-lindsey">filmmakers Carl and Angel Larsen</a> also face jail time because they can’t produce films celebrating same-sex weddings.
All these artists serve people in the LGBT community. They just can’t promote certain messages. Just like a LGBT web designer who generally serves Muslims but can’t create a website for a Muslim client that criticizes same-sex marriage, these other artists can’t covey certain messages with which they disagree. None of this is discrimination. It’s called diversity. It’s the freedom to disagree with each other — yet still treat each other with dignity and respect.
If the government can force cake designers, calligraphers, and filmmakers to convey messages with which they disagree, nothing stops it from forcing a progressive speechwriter to pen a pro-Trump paean she detests.
So the truth at the center of Grant and Jacob’s lawsuit, <a href="http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/10805">ThinkRight Strategies LLC v. City of Ann Arbor</a>, goes deeper than political or ideological disagreements. It goes to the core freedoms we all share — our freedom of conscience, our freedom to live and work consistent with our deepest beliefs, and our freedom to disagree. When these freedoms get taken from one of us, we all lose. Let’s hope these freedoms have not yet disappeared in Ann Arbor — for everyone’s sake.
Jonathan Scruggs is senior counsel and director of the Center for Conscience Initiatives at <a href="http://www.adflegal.org/">Alliance Defending Freedom </a>(<a href="https://twitter.com/AllianceDefends">@Alliance Defends</a>), which represents ThinkRight Strategies.

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Jonathan Scruggs

How Gender Ideology Is Reshaping Our Schools And Health Care System

SCRUGGS: New Ann Arbor, Michigan Law Violates The First Amendment