A Minnesota mother filed suit yesterday against two governmental agencies, several non-profits, and a school district after they began sex reassignment treatments on her minor son without her consent.
According to the Washington Times, Anmarie Calgaro is suing several government agencies, the St. Louis County School District and several other nonprofits for declaring her son to be emancipated without a court order, and then treating him with narcotics and other drugs to effect a transition from male to female.
She claims that her parental rights have been infringed upon by the agencies and medical clinics, none of which obtained a court order for the emancipation of the child before proceeding with the sex change which is against her will. Although she cites no religious objection to the change, she simply wants her son to be older before making such a life-altering decision.
“Not only was I robbed of the opportunity to help my son make good decisions, but I also feel he was robbed of a key advocate in his life, his mother,” Calgaro told reporters yesterday.
According to TwinCities.com, the issue began in 2015 when Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid wrote a letter stating that the parents surrendered their legal rights over the boy. The boy told the state that his parents were not married when he was born and that even though Calgaro has legal custody of him, she did not report him as a runaway six months after he left home. He now lives in central Minnesota while his mother lives in the northern part of the state.
Erick Kaardal, special counsel to the Thomas More Society, which represents Ms. Calgaro, said Minnesota’s emancipation law allows service providers to treat minors as adults without a court order and without an adequate appeals process. However, that violates the right of due process enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“Parental rights are fundamental rights under the 14th Amendment liberty interest, so they can’t be terminated without due process,” Mr. Kaardal said.
The courts already seem to be in agreement with Ms. Calgaro because her son tried twice to change his name but his applications were denied by the St. Louis County District Court because of the “lack of any adjudication relative to emancipation.”
“This is an outrageous abuse of power by multiple agencies,” stated Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society. “To treat a minor child without either parental consent or a court order of emancipation is a violation of the trust placed upon the human service sector and its governmental oversight agencies. To give a parent no recourse to intervene in this situation is an egregious violation of Constitutional rights.”
This case is one to watch because it brings to the forefront the tension between the rights of parents and those of their LGBT minor offspring.
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