Progressives Oppose Parental Rights, Upcoming Maryland Legislation SB378 Should Change That
Parental rights are for everyone. Let me repeat that. Parental rights are for everyone! Parental rights are for all races, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, economic groups, sexual orientations, etc. No matter who the parent is, they have parental rights until they do something that legally changes their status as a parent.
Why is this important?
It’s important because the assumption is that the only people in this country advocating for parental rights are white, right-wing, upper middle class parents.
It’s important because the denial of a parent’s right to decide for his/her child is the beginning of the State takeover of a society. It has happened in every authoritarian country in history. And I don’t know anyone, conservative or progressive, who wants that.
Across the country, politicians and parent groups are proposing parental rights bills. Every time, it seems there are the same reactions. Conservatives support the bills; Progressives oppose them. Depending on the balance in state legislatures, these bills are either approved or defeated.
Sadly, people forget when these bills are proposed that they never state that one group gets parental rights while others don’t. Parental rights are for ALL PARENTS.
Since that’s true, what IS the problem with parental rights?
Maybe the problem is that all parents WILL get those rights and there are those who don’t want that. But who?
You don’t have to think very hard to answer that question. There are four groups who don’t want parental rights. They are school systems, government officials, teachers’ unions and even some teachers. Why?
In many cases, school systems don’t want to be bothered with parents. They don’t want to have to explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. And by explain, I mean give a REAL, RATIONAL explanation for programs, not some obscure platitude about helping kids feel good or think they are achieving when they are not. The money systems spend on programs that don’t work and have no foundation in good teaching is hard to justify to parents and taxpayers who see dismal test scores.
Questions parents ask may require officials to give some answers that show they either have no idea why they are doing something or that they have motives that have nothing to do with what is best for educating children. Often, the education administration will only have the answer, “Because the state/federal government says I have to.” Nothing like admitting that you are a powerless cog in the wheel.
Government officials, politicians, don’t want parental rights because these officials are control oriented. Not only are they interested in controlling and suppressing the population, but they also don’t want to give up the monetary control unions and special interest groups such as pharmaceutical companies give them. Controlling the lives of our children is big business for these special interest groups and they will pay millions in bribes to make sure control happens.
The Unions, of course, don’t want parental rights because the codification of these rights will expose the Unions for what they are; politically biased multi-billion-dollar enterprises whose sole purpose is to grow and maintain political power by courting certain groups and defaming others. One look at the National Education Association or American Federation of Teachers national webpages shows you the groups they care about and, by omission, the ones they don’t. They don’t hide it.
Parental rights laws will open up the unions to scrutiny of how their extensive assets are spent and the control they have over local, state and federal governments. (Hint: They don’t spend money on better education for children nor services for teachers).
And let’s not forget pharmaceutical companies who see our public-school children as another avenue to big profits. Parental rights stand in the way of their forcing vaccines and medical procedures on children who don’t need them and don’t have the mental capacity to consent. You may wonder how that works. How do pharmaceutical companies make sure that they have control over school children and make millions?
We have an example right here in Montgomery County, Maryland. The Senator’s name is Cheryl Kagan and she is proposing SB 378. It is currently under first reading in the State Senate in the Finance Committee. ( Ironic, isn’t it?)
Senate Bill 378 is the bill, and it will allow minors aged 14 or younger to consent to a vaccination without the approval or even knowledge of a parent. Here’s the bill:
It’s interesting that this bill not only allows minors 14 or even younger to make decisions about vaccinations, decisions they do not have the mental capacity or knowledge to make, but it also provides a liability shield for those doctors, staff, caregivers and drug companies who promote and give the vaccines. That means in the event that a child is irreparably harmed or dies because of the vaccine, no one involved in the process to provide it to them will have any legal responsibility.
One wonders why officials would need a liability shield if children are competent to make this decision and/or if the vaccines are safe. We know why. They know that neither of these are true and no one wants to be sued when the inevitable happens.
This bill gives the adults who potentially have authority over a child in school or other settings, not the parent, the right to decide if the child is competent or not. There won’t be any coercion, right? Sadly, we know there will be.
What’s next? Minors deciding on gender reassignment therapies or surgery? Minors deciding to sell their organs? Take a look at what California has done. Where California goes, Maryland follows:
Newsom Signs Bill Making California ‘Sanctuary’ for Child Gender Transition (yahoo.com) Gov. Newsom signs laws allowing minors to hide abortions, transgender procedures from parents – LifeSite (lifesitenews.com)
At first, you may not see what Senator Kagan will gain from presenting this bill. If you read the article below, you will see her motives:
Senator Kagan and Pharmaceutical Companies will make a lot of money when they have a captive, willing population to be subjected to their vaccines and procedures. And if a few kids have to be harmed or die along the way, oh well. Greater good, right? Not if it’s your child. With a parental rights bill in place, Senator Kagan’s bill would never see the light of day.
There are also teachers who fight tooth and nail against parental rights. For them, it is an issue of having to listen to a parent who objects to what and how their child is being taught. It means providing alternative lessons and, in some cases, exposing the fact that a teacher may be teaching something not in the approved curriculum, like gender ideology or political activism. It might also mean exposing a teacher who isn’t working at all, who has nefarious motives or who is incompetent. This is what happened during pandemic lockdowns when children were restricted to online classes.
Surprisingly, there are even parents who fight parental rights. Why would they fight against power they could have over their own child’s education and medical decisions? Some fight because they have been led to believe that parental rights are NOT for them. They believe that parental rights are against children. It couldn’t be any further from the truth. Parental rights laws give ALL parents the right to know and object to what is happening to their child. After all, is there any parent who doesn’t want to protect their child from actions that are harmful? Does it matter to ANY parent who is the source of those actions? I don’t think so. Parental rights are not a panacea. There are always bumps in the road when we consider the rights of everyone, not just a few.
What happens if there are conflicts between what some parents want versus others? This will happen. When it does, those conflicts will have to be resolved via discussion and compromise. Isn’t that what mature adults do when they disagree? If not, it should be. But one’s rights should not be trampled by the whims of another or even by the majority. Accommodations will have to be made.
Parents can’t know everything going on with their child throughout the day at school. Even with “opt outs” there will be lessons and teachers’ opinions that children will be exposed to that parents may not agree with but will never know about. Most children don’t come home and tell Mom and Dad everything that happens in the school day.
School systems say that parental rights will cause classrooms and teachers to be overrun with parents who want things done their way. This is a red herring argument since most parents are too busy working and running households to come to parent conference nights, much less to hang out at the classroom door to micromanage teachers.
Having the process available for parents to see curriculum and to give input to teachers on issues they find important is vital to home and school cooperation. This cooperation helps our students do better academically and emotionally. Teachers should be a willing to participate in parental rights as families. After all, it will help them do their jobs better. Judging from recent Maryland test scores, they need that help.
Parental rights will allow you to go in and ask what is happening with your child in terms of counseling, academics, medical treatment, discipline, etc. without having to submit expensive Freedom of Education Act inquiries or engage an expensive lawyer. Schools and other entities will start to view parents as valued, respected partners.
Parental rights will be there as the guardrail that will keep schools and governments from running rough shod over the beliefs, rights and values of parents and students. In many ways it will protect our precious young people from those who wish to manipulate or exploit them. Parents and guardians, the people who love them the most, will be able to stand guard. Which is why I don’t understand why Progressives, who want to be seen as champions of protecting those who they see as vulnerable, aren’t joining in the parental rights cause. Because parental rights will protect them and their children also.
Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
SIDE NOTE: A Parental Rights Bill is in the works in Maryland. One was drafted last year but was soundly rejected. Maybe this year…
Jan Greenhawk/Editor, Writer, Radio Free Oxford
February 6, 2023
Jan is a retired teacher and a current Chapter Chair for Moms for Liberty, Talbot © Janet L. Greenhawk and Radio Free Oxford, 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janet L. Greenhawk and Radio Free Oxford with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Jan can be reached at jan417@radiofreeoxford.com