International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson

The Child & Parental Rights Campaign, together with Our Duty–USA and LGB Courage Coalition, filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson (No. 25-840), in support of petitioners. The Court granted review of a Washington statute that allows licensed youth shelters to withhold a runaway child from parents if the child is seeking or receiving “gender-affirming treatment.” Instead of the prior 72-hour parental notice rule, shelters contact the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which need only make a “good faith attempt” to notify parents and need not disclose the child’s location or condition. The brief argues that the law violates parents’ fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children, recognized in Troxel v. Granville and Parham v. J.R., and deprives parents of procedural due process before the state interferes with custody and medical decision-making. It also explains how the statute creates an irrefutable presumption that parents who do not immediately agree to their child’s desire to reject their sex are abusive or neglectful. Prepared by Mary E. McAlister (Counsel of Record) and Vernadette R. Broyles of CPRC, with C. Erin Friday of Our Duty–USA. Argument is set for December 7, 2026.