LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Was it a violation of parental rights or the state protecting a child? An Indiana couple claims the state took their child for not using their preferred pronouns.
It's a case that now sits in front of the U.S Supreme Court. The parents, Mary and Jeremy Cox, are deeply religious and claim the state violated their parental and religious rights. But the state claims the child was not getting the proper medical care for an eating disorder — a disorder that developed from the parents' refusal to accept their child's transgender identity.
"This is one of the most chilling incursions into parental rights and on free speech that one can imagine," the couple's lawyer, Joe Davis of Becket Law Firm, said.
The Coxs, who are Catholic, put together a four-and-a-half minute video with the help of the Indiana Family Institute. In the video, the couple claims the state took their child for not providing gender-affirming counseling.
"When our son was removed from our home, it was like someone removed the rug out from underneath us," said Jeremy Cox.
The case has been through the state courts, and every court agreed the state did nothing wrong.
"Because of their religious beliefs, they refused to refer to their son by pronouns and a name that were inconsistent with their biological sex. The state then took the child away from his parents' home and imposed a gag order," said Davis.
The Indiana Attorney General's Office is required to defend the state, and wrote in Supreme Court filings that Child Protective Services removed the child to get medical treatment for an eating disorder that was, in part, rooted in their parents' beliefs.
A filing from the AG's Office said the eating disorder was "Fueled in part by (the) child's self-isolation from the parents and that behavior was likely to reoccur if (the) child was placed back in the home."
But the couple's attorney calls it an overreach.
"So it is the state reaching into the home and attempting to impose a radical ideology about sex and gender identity ever on parents that disagree," Davis said.
When asked for comment, Attorney General Todd Rokita's office declined, but sent the below statement:
"We always protect parental rights and religious liberty. Neither we nor the Indiana courts believe that the State can remove a child because of a parent’s religious beliefs, views about gender identity, or anything of the sort. Our office is fulfilling our statutory duty to defend this state agency and to keep an oath I swore when I took office. As the record shows, this state agency acted not on the use of pronouns but because of the child’s extreme eating disorder. The Indiana governor sets DCS policy and hires those employees. I am very sympathetic to the parents, and everyone who follows my work as attorney general knows that I am the biggest defender and proponent of parental rights."
The U.S. Supreme Court has not decided whether to hear the case or not. Davis said if the Supreme Court sides with the state, it could have devastating consequences for religious and parental rights.
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
