President Trump’s allusion to America’s “Golden Age” may mean new opportunities for innovation and growth, but it also means the chance to protect certain fundamental rights from ever being threatened again by a future administration. One bill that aims to do that is the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act (FRRA).
The right of parents to be parents – to raise their children as they see fit, to love and care for their children in the way that best promotes their flourishing and development – is a God-given, fundamental right. No one knows or cares more about children than their parents, the ones who brought them into the world in the first place. No one is better suited to raise them, save in those rare cases of abuse or incapacity.
Over the past several years, parental rights have been consistently under attack by those seeking to undermine the most basic political unit – the family. Many school districts have taught children corrosive gender ideology without their parent’s knowledge or consent. Many kids have also been indoctrinated into racist ideology that teaches them to judge and categorize their peers based on skin color rather than character. When they try to push back against this curriculum, parents are often barred from speaking out at school board meetings.
Schools are not the only battleground for parental rights, though. A number of states have proposed bills that would allow minors as young as twelve to receive vaccines without their parents knowing. Other parents have struggled with hospitals and doctors attempting to make irreversible medical decisions for their children with which they, the parents, do not consent or agree.
The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld the idea that parental rights are fundamental; in some cases such as Pierce v. Society of Sisters and Wisconsin v. Yoder, which held that the “primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children, is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition.” But there is much debate about the practical application and limits of such court opinions. Because of this, it would be helpful for Congress to step in and make those court decisions clear via enforceable legislation.
Early last year, Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), alongside Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), introduced the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act. With the makeup of last year’s Congress, the bill had no chance of moving. But this year’s reintroduction is accompanied with greater optimism with a Republican majority in both chambers.
The bill protects parental rights by ensuring that any action by the federal government that infringes on them is subject to “strict scrutiny,” the highest standard of judicial review in the U.S. legal system. This protection requires a court to carefully examine the government’s actions to determine whether or not it is abusing its authority and infringing on fundamental rights.
Importantly, the bill would not allow parents to do whatever they want with their children. For example, it would not allow them to knowingly harm their children, buy illegal drugs for them, or demand access to particular procedures (such as gender mutilation surgeries). In those instances, the state would have a compelling interest to step in for the sake of the child. This would satisfy the high bar set by the courts’ application of strict scrutiny.
The FRRA would codify and protect the right that all parents have to care for their children. Concerned Women for American Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) commends Sen. Scott and Rep. Foxx for championing this important legislation for the good of America’s families. Use our action center to tell your Congressman and Senators to support the FRRA.