WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule Monday on whether an Anderson couple who believe children should retain their birth sex should have lost custody of their child, a transgender teenage girl.
The Indianapolis Star reported that the court, without comment, rejected the parents’ appeal.
“With increasing frequency, governments run roughshod over parents’ religious beliefs on gender identity, including removing children from parents, favoring certain beliefs in divorce custody disputes, and preventing adoptions,” lawyers for Mary and Jeremy Cox told the court in their appeal. “These cases are sure to proliferate.”
The state said the parents, selfdescribed devout Christians, lost custody because of the medical necessity of addressing the teen’s severe eating disorder.
Indiana law, similar to statutes in most other states, allows government intervention in “a variety of situations in which even well-intentioned parent find themselves unable to prevent serious harm,” the state told the court.
Indiana also argued that the custody dispute is irrelevant because the teen, who was 16 when removed from the home, is now an adult, according to the Star.
In a statement following the Supreme Court’s denial, the Coxes said losing custody of the teen because of their beliefs would “stay with us forever.”
“We can’t change the past, but we will continue to fight for a future where parents of faith can raise their children without fear of state officials knocking on their doors,” the Coxes said, as reported in the Star.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said he is “sympathetic” to the Coxes.
“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,” Rokita said in a statement.
The case traces to 2021 after the Indiana Department of Child Services received reports of abuse or neglect related to the teen’s transgender identity. One report accused the parents of verbally and emotionally abusing the child over the transgender identity, court records relate.
A judge ordered that the teen be removed from the parents, get treatment for the eating disorder and participate in therapy. The state dropped allegations of parental abuse but argued the teen’s eating disorder might worsen if the parents were to regain custody.
The parents were directed not to discuss transgenderism with their child outside of the therapy sessions because of the connection between such discussions and the eating disorder, the Star reported.
The Coxes said the state violated their parental rights and their religious freedom.
The Indiana Court of Appeals sided with the state, and the Indiana Supreme Court declined to review the case, according to the Star report.
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