Virginia Democrat delegate Elizabeth Guzman planned to reintroduce a bill intended to expand the definition of child abuse and neglect by including parents or guardians who “inflicted upon such child a physical or mental injury on the basis of the child’s gender identity or sexual orientation.” We should fight against child abuse, but the wording of this bill leads to additional questions. What would constitute child abuse on the basis of a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation? Would parents be guilty of child abuse for not referring to their child in his or her preferred pronouns? Would Child Protection Services remove a child if the parents refuse medical treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgery?
While the language of the bill does not answer these questions, we can find answers in other states. For example, in Arizona a divorced father lost custody of his son after doubting that hormone blockers were the answer to his son’s gender dysphoria. In short, introducing legislation like that in Virginia opens the door to the restriction of parental rights.
Fortunately, after backlash Ms. Guzman told reporters that she would not reintroduce the bill in the upcoming legislative session. Fellow Democrat and House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr. told reporters: “We already have laws on the books to protect children from abuse and neglect.”
In “Amoris Laetitia,” Pope Francis said that “the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created.” Puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and gender-affirming surgery will not solve the problems faced by children struggling with gender dysphoria. We predict that sometime in the future lawmakers, doctors and parents will come to their senses and realize that transgender ideology is the real form of child abuse. Hopefully this prediction will come true sooner rather than later to prevent more children and parents from experiencing the terrible effects of this ideology.
