Stop separating families

Intact families matter…in Ohio too.

I was thrilled to see President Trump sign an executive order to ensure law enforcement is doing everything they can to both protect our nation’s borders and keep families intact. I gave a full-throated “Amen!” when he called on Congress to now get the job done on immigration.The national conversation on this issue has brought to light the importance of intact families. It’s common sense: keeping kids with their parents is best for the children and for society. As the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote in a letter to President Trump: “To pretend that separated children do not grow up with the shrapnel of this traumatic experience embedded in their minds is to disregard everything we know about child development, the brain, and trauma.” A professor at Harvard Medical School told The Washington Post that separating children from their parents is “catastrophic.”I agree.But my question is, why is Equality Ohio and the Ohio Education Association advocating for the right to rip Ohio children away from their parents? And where is the media outrage about this same issue in the Buckeye state?As you may remember, Ohio made national news earlier this year when Hamilton County Judge Sylvia Hendon removed a child from parents’ custody because they would not put the child on experimental hormone therapy for the purpose of gender transition.The parents, in this case, loved their daughter dearly and were seeking help. However, they (rightfully) wouldn’t consent to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital’s recommendation of putting her on high dose testosterone. Hamilton County Services intervened and ripped this 16-year-old girl away from her parents’ custody.Just like this was wrong at the border, it’s wrong in Ohio.That’s why CCV is working with state lawmakers on the Parents’ Rights Act. HB 658 ensures that this cannot happen to other families and that public schools cannot intentionally keep parents in the dark about a child’s struggle with gender dysphoria.Yesterday, Rep Tom Brinkman and Rep. Paul Zeltwanger provided sponsor testimony. Already, the spin machine about this bill is in the works, claiming it’s an anti-transgender bill.But it’s not. It’s an intact families bill. It’s a bill that affirms the importance of moms, dads, and children.If we can all agree that intact families matter, and that taking children away from their parents is “catastrophic,” then we should all be able to agree that Ohio must pass the Parents’ Rights Act.