In what can only be described as a flagrant violation of parental rights and individual freedoms, Minnesota Bill HF146 is a menacing and misguided piece of legislation that must be stopped at all costs. Its harmful provisions threaten to upend the delicate balance between the state’s responsibility to protect children and parents’ fundamental rights to make medical decisions for their children.

Introduced in February 2022, this bill has sparked widespread outrage and opposition from advocates for children’s welfare and individual liberties alike. Its most disturbing provision seeks to categorize a parent’s refusal to provide “gender-affirming health care” as neglect or abuse, effectively criminalizing their decision to seek alternative medical treatments.

Proponents of the bill have tried to justify this provision by claiming that it is necessary to protect the health and well-being of transgender children. However, opponents have pointed out that it is a gross violation of parental rights and could lead to irreversible medical interventions such as puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgeries, which should always be the decision of the child and their family.

Moreover, the bill limits the state’s responsibility to extradite a parent who commits these acts in another state where such interventions are illegal, further eroding the protections afforded to children.

The term “gender-affirming health care” used in the bill is so broad that it could be manipulated to encompass any medical intervention related to gender identity, including irreversible surgeries. This would strip parents of their sacred right to make medical decisions for their children and hand over that power to the state.

As defenders of morality and autonomy, we recognize this bill for the grotesque perversion of truth that it is. We stand in solidarity with advocates for children’s welfare and individual liberties in opposing this menacing and misguided piece of legislation.