ADF to 11th Circuit: Parents, not the government, have the right to raise their kids

Published April 30, 2025

Related Case: Littlejohn v. School Board of Leon County

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Vincent Wagner regarding a friend-of-the-court brief ADF attorneys filed Wednesday asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to review the case Littlejohn v. School Board of Leon County and support parents’ right to make important decisions about their children:

“Parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children. Leon County Schools violated this right by using cross-gender pronouns and a different name for a student—a controversial psychosocial intervention—against her parents’ express wishes. As we explain in our brief, the decisions in this case so far have not recognized the long history and tradition supporting parents’ right to make crucial mental health decisions like this for their children. Parents know their children best, and they shouldn’t be kept in the dark about their children’s wellbeing. We are urging the full 11th Circuit to rehear this case and reverse the lower court’s decision for its failure to respect parents’ constitutionally protected freedom to make the best decisions for their own kids.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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