Family Council Joins Amicus Brief Defending Parental Rights Before 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Transgender, ,

Last week, Family Council joined an amicus brief defending parental rights in a federal lawsuit currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The case is Mirabelli v. Bonta. Parents and teachers are challenging a school district policy that requires teachers to deceive parents about their child’s gender transition at school.

On September 2, Advancing American Freedom filed an amicus brief on behalf of Family Council and dozens of other pro-family organizations urging the 9th Circuit court to affirm parental rights and stop a California school district’s secret social gender transition policy.

The brief argues that “the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is essential to liberty and is deeply rooted in American tradition and practice,” and that schools undermine parental rights when they deceive parents about a child’s gender dysphoria or social transition at school.

Unfortunately, the school policy in California is not an isolated incident. Pro-LGBT activists have used public schools to promote transgender ideology and gender confusion to kids in many different ways.

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have spoken out about how schools are hiding important information about students from their parents. But policymakers, legal experts, and parents are pushing back.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was investigating four school districts in Kansas for secret gender transitions after a complaint alleged that school officials let male students into females’ private spaces and sports at school and hid students’ sexual identity confusion from their parents.

Family Council joined dozens of other pro-family organizations from across the country last year in an amicus brief regarding a New York school district that treated a middle-school girl as if she were a boy without her mother’s knowledge or consent.

Arkansas has enacted good laws to help prevent schools from socially transitioning children or promoting radical pro-LGBT ideology in the classroom. These are good laws that protect children and affirm parental rights.

But federal court cases like the one in California could affect schools nationwide. That’s why it’s important for us to stand up for students and parents in this case.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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HHS Report Exposes Alleged Insurance Fraud Surrounding Sex-Change Procedures Performed on Children

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On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a startling report exposing ways medical professionals and facilities allegedly profited from sex-change procedures performed on kids.

In a statement, HHS said:

“According to the report, more than 225 hospitals and health systems established pediatric gender programs nationwide. The report also analyzes nationwide claims data from 2015 through 2025 and identifies approximately $50 million in insurance claims for puberty blockers billed using endocrine disorder diagnostic code E34.9 (Endocrine Disorder, Unspecified). It further reports that nearly $11 million in claims for patients ages 13–17 were billed using a diagnosis code for precocious puberty E301 — findings the report says warrant additional review of insurance coding practices.”

In a separate statement issued on X, Vice President Vance said:

“For years now, some hospitals and healthcare providers have been subjecting children to horrific, experimental treatments in service of radical gender ideologies. Today, thanks to the Wolves in White Coats report released by @HHSGov, we know why: profit. It turns out that convincing vulnerable children to reject their gender can create patients for life, earning hospitals tens of thousands of dollars in additional revenue per child.

“The report contains deeply disturbing allegations, and I encourage every American and every parent, to read it. More than just pushing these procedures on kids, hospitals and providers may have been defrauding Medicaid and private insurers by using misleading or fraudulent billing codes to get insurance to cover the costs.”

Over the past 20 years, the number of children who identify as transgender has skyrocketed — especially among biological girls.

Many hospitals opened “gender clinics” that prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids or even perform sex-change procedures on children. But public health experts and policymakers in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support these “gender transitions.”

These drugs and procedures carry serious risks — including infertility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density, and cardiovascular problems.

Whistleblowers have come forward to testify about how they were rushed through gender transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives.

Today we know pro-LGBT activists and medical organizations spent years citing each other’s work in a circular pattern, manufacturing a fake consensus about performing sex-change surgeries on kids.

Stories like these have prompted investigations and legal action against doctors and facilities that performed these procedures on children.

In 2021, Arkansas’ lawmakers passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. This good law generally prohibits doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Arkansas was the first state in America to enact a law like the SAFE Act, but since 2021 lawmakers in more than half the country have passed similar legislation. Federal courts have upheld the SAFE Act and other state laws like it.

This latest HHS report underscores that Arkansas’ lawmakers were right to pass the SAFE Act. Arkansans can be proud that their state has done so much to protect children from these dangerous sex-change procedures.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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U.S. Senate Needs to Clarify that Sports Bill Won’t Preempt Good Law in Arkansas

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The following is a press release from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom.

Thursday, Aug 6, 2026

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, President, and Chief Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668), a bill currently in the U.S. Senate that could be voted on this week:

“For nearly a decade, Alliance Defending Freedom has worked with courageous female athletes, state and national lawmakers, and allies across the country to protect fairness, privacy, and safety in women’s sports. That work led to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order last January reaffirming biological truth and recognizing that men don’t belong in women’s sports. And it culminated with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Little v. Hecox and State of West Virginia v. B.P.J., upholding Idaho’s and West Virginia’s laws ensuring men cannot compete in women’s sports. The Supreme Court affirmed that states can protect women’s sports—a massive win for the 27 states that have passed laws doing just that.

“The Protect College Sports Act, which addresses issues such as Name, Image, and Likeness agreements and student athlete transfers, creates an unnecessary risk of undermining the Supreme Court win, President Trump’s Executive Order, and many other hard-earned victories for women and girls. The bill sets general eligibility rules for college athletes and then preempts states from maintaining their own eligibility rules, which could include laws saying men are ineligible for women’s teams. For weeks, ADF has warned Congress that activists could misuse the bill’s existing preemption language to argue that states’ women’s sports laws can no longer be enforced.

“Every senator who cares about women’s equal opportunity should act immediately to clarify that this bill does not preempt states’ laws protecting women’s sports. There is a simple fix available: Ensure the preemption of state laws is narrow. We are living in a moment where lawyers can’t even define what a woman is. There’s no room for ambiguity. Let’s not undo the hard-fought gains or pass permanent legislation that could jeopardize these victories. We are thankful for President Trump’s legacy of protecting women’s sports to date and we don’t want to see it undone.

“It’s time to keep girls on the field, not sideline them again.”

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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