The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from Indiana parents who lost custody of their transgender teen. According to an article from the IndyStar, the court declined to decide if the couple, who believe that children should be raised based on their sex assigned at birth, should have lost custody of their daughter in 2021.
In the appeal, the parents Mary and Jeremy Cox’s lawyers argued that the government is increasingly ignoring parents’ beliefs on gender identity, including removing children from parents, favoring certain beliefs in divorce custody disputes and preventing adoptions.
The appeal says that cases like the Coxs’, are going to become more commonplace.
The state said the parents, self-described devout Christians, lost custody of their daughter because of the medical necessity of treating the teen’s severe eating disorder, not their views, according to IndyStar.
An investigation by a case manager, according to an article from the IndyStar, found that the teen had been suffering from an untreated eating disorder, that she had been pulled from school by her parents, who had also discontinued her therapy, and that she was thinking of harming herself. The Cox’s denied the allegations and, during a June 2021 hearing, the parents presented evidence that they had started seeing an eating disorder specialist, seeking a new therapist and in the process of enrolling the teen in another school.
The state also told the court that a provision of Indiana law, like statutes in most states, allows the government to intervene in a variety of situations where even well-intentioned parents are unable to prevent serious harm.
Additionally, Indiana argued that the custody dispute wasn’t relevant anymore because the teen, who was 16 when she was removed from the home, is now an adult.
The case began after the Indiana Department of Child Services received two reports of abuse or neglect related to the teen’s transgender identity in 2021, according to the IndyStar. After hearings, the judge ordered the teen’s removal from her parent’s custody, treatment for her eating disorder and participation in both individual and family therapy.
The state also dropped the allegations of parental abuse or neglect but argued that if the parents regained custody, the teen’s eating disorder might get worse.
After the Supreme Court’s rejection, Mary and Jeremy Cox referred to their child as “our son” in a statement and said that losing custody of their child “because of their beliefs” will stay with them forever, according to the IndyStar.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita expressed his sympathy for the parents and cited his work in defending parental rights in a statement, according to the IndyStar. Rokita also acknowledged that the record showed the state was motivated by the teen’s “extreme eating disorder.”
