WASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court on Monday granted cert to hear International Partners for Ethical Care, Inc. v. Ferguson on appeal from the Ninth Circuit. The constitutional question in the case is “[w]hether parents have standing to challenge a law or policy that deliberately displaces their decision-making role,” according to the SCOTUSblog website.
“This is an important and welcome decision by the Supreme Court,” says Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus William Wagner, Vice President of the Parental Rights Foundation. “For more than a century, the Court has recognized that parents, not government officials, hold the primary responsibility and constitutional liberty to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. When a state policy deliberately interferes with that relationship, parents should not be turned away at the courthouse door.”
This case will settle a dispute between the Ninth Circuit and other circuits, as well as existing Supreme Court precedent, regarding whether parents can be denied standing when policies are adopted that threaten their right to make important decisions for their minor children.
“The constitutional injury occurs when the State displaces fit parents as the rightful decisionmakers for their children,” Wagner said. “Parents do not need to wait until irreversible harm occurs before seeking judicial protection. The Constitution protects the family precisely because some liberties are too fundamental to be left to bureaucratic discretion.”
The case arises from State of Washington policies allowing state actors and shelters to withhold critical information from parents when a child seeks gender-related services.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case reflects the seriousness of the constitutional issues presented,” Wagner said. “A free constitutional republic must respect the family as an institution that precedes the state. Government exists to protect children by respecting the rightful role of loving and fit parents, not by secretly replacing them.”
Wagner added that the Court’s review comes at a critical time.
“Across the country, parents are asking whether the Constitution still protects their ability to guide, nurture, and care for their children. By agreeing to hear this case, the Supreme Court has taken an important step toward reaffirming that parental liberty remains one of our nation’s oldest and most fundamental rights.”
