The advocates from Faith and Freedom filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, March 7, intending to block San Francisco's State Senator Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 107, which permits minors to receive transgender medical procedures and hormonal treatments without the approval of their parents.

Lawsuit

Faith and Freedom is a conservative advocacy group established by Pastor Tim Thompson. 

According to World, the lawsuit claims that Senate Bill 107 violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment and the full faith and credit clause. 

Our Watch had to redirect its resources from its other activities to educate people about the transgender sanctuary law, according to the complaint.

Faith and Freedom legal counsel, Mariah Gondeiro, asserted that parents are better equipped than the government to determine whether their child should undergo life-altering medical procedures that may prevent them from becoming parents later in life. 

From this, the lawsuit requests the court to declare the law unconstitutional and to award Our Watch damages, including attorneys' fees and interest.

Several other states have implemented laws to protect minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and gender-transition surgeries, which are often irreversible. 

For instance, in April of last year, Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama signed legislation that criminalizes gender-altering medical procedures on individuals under the age of 18. 

Additionally, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has instructed authorities to launch child abuse investigations into parents whose children have undergone transgender interventions.

Recently, activist Chloe Cole filed a lawsuit against a California hospital system and medical doctors for transgender treatments she received as a minor, including a double mastectomy. 

Cole, who has been adversely affected by such policies, stated that it is critical to challenge Senate Bill 107.

She stated that the bill could allow vulnerable children from other states to undergo life-altering and harmful surgeries and medications.

Moreover, Ernie Walton, a professor of law at Regent University, has expressed his disapproval of California's encroachment on parental rights. 

He argued that parents possess fundamental rights to raise their children, including the ability to make decisions regarding their healthcare and gender identity, which this law supposedly denies. 

However, Walton does not think that this particular lawsuit, despite its unconstitutionality, will be effective in challenging the law. 

A judge may rule that the plaintiff, Our Watch, does not have standing, meaning they lack a real injury. 

Instead, Walton suggested that a parent whose child goes to California for gender transition treatments would have the standing to challenge the law.

Senate Bill 107

Representing San Francisco, Wiener authored and advocated for Senate Bill 107, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law in September 2022. 

The legislation, which refers to "gender-affirming healthcare," prohibits parents from obtaining their child's medical information and prevents states from impeding transgender procedures or reuniting parents with runaway children.

Wiener stated in a statement that "California must always have their back" as many states seek to eradicate trans children and criminalize their families. 

According to Wiener's office, the law has encouraged lawmakers from 19 other states to propose comparable bills in their respective states.

 

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