A Catholic couple in Indiana, United States, Mary and Jeremy Cox, are fighting for the custody of their son, who prefers to be identified as a girl.
The case began in 2019 when the child made the request but he was denied by his parents who are Christians and do not subscribe to such. In 2021, the Indiana Department of Child Services began an investigation into the case after they got a report that the parents were not identifying their son as a girl.
The boy, who is identified as A.S. in the case, was taken from his parents’ tutelage. He was taken to a home where he would be identified in the way he desired.
The parents have taken up the case to the Supreme Court and a law firm, Becket, is handling the case. In their petition, they are requesting that the court hear their case and grant them the right to have custody of their child since they are fit to do so.
Moreover, the attorneys noted that if the court does not get involved, other states in the nation will join Indiana to take away children from their parents who refuse to give them a false gender identity.
According to the attorneys, the state admitted that the parents were fit to take care of their son, yet, they still took away the child over a gender identity dispute.
Besides, the parents have said that the child needs treatment for his mental health for different reasons. There is also a need to check his eating disorder. This was because his eating pattern had worsened since he got into the state’s custody. Hence, he needs to be brought back home for better care.
The parents said in a statement, “This is what every parent is afraid of. We love our son and want to care for him, but the state of Indiana robbed us of that opportunity by taking him from our home and banning us from speaking to him about gender. We are hopeful that the justices will take our case and protect other parents from having to endure the nightmare we did.”
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