Protecting Families from Government Overreach
On Sept. 29, Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri introduced the “Yaeli Martinez Child Protection Act“ which would “prevent federal child-welfare funds from being used to punish parents for raising children according to their sex or protecting them from irreversible medical harm.” The bill is in reaction to a string of cases in recent years in which children were removed from the homes of parents and caregivers who refused to go along with social transitioning and life-altering chemical and surgical procedures.
Senator Schmitt explained his motivation for the bill:
It is sickening that a state would impose ideological child-welfare policies to tear apart a family. Parents know what’s best for their own families, and we need to defend their rights to protect their children.
The bill is named for Yaeli Martinez, a young woman in California who struggled with depression. Without her mom’s knowledge or consent, she was herded into LGBT support groups by school counselors. Eventually, she socially “transitioned” and adopted a boy name.
When her mother, Abigail, found out and refused to go along, the school psychologist pushed Los Angeles Child Services to remove Yaeli from her home. She was placed in a group home where she started—at age 16—cross-sex hormones. Ms. Martinez was told, “She [will] have more chance to survive. She’s not going to try to commit suicide.”
But instead of finding the peace her counselors promised, Yaeli’s mental struggles continued and increased. In 2019, at age 19, Yaeli took her life.
Massachusetts parents Joseph and Arlene Kutzko learned that their daughter Sophie had “transitioned” without their knowledge after being exposed to gender ideology material at school. In 2024, Sophie began to stay after school for what her parents were told was math tutoring. Instead, she was attending gender transition “counseling” sessions.
It was not until government agents took Sophie from their home that the Kutzkos learned about any of this. When the parents resisted, local officials accused Joseph of physical abuse. Sophie has not been allowed to return home or see her parents for two years now. The Kutzkos are fighting in court to keep the state from giving their daughter high doses of testosterone. In April, Sophie will turn 18, and her parents will have even fewer resources to contest the state-sponsored brainwashing she’s been under for years now.
Ms. Martinez, the Kutzkos, and many other parents need more legal tools to fight back. Similarly, young people who have destransitioned need an easier path to hold doctors accountable for malpractice. Parents must be able to raise their children without fear that a school counselor or medical professional, backed by the legal power of the state, can take them away. Currently, only about half of the U.S. states have restrictions on youth access to gender affirming “care.” At least 12 states have “shield laws” that essentially work against parents of minor children who want to transition.
The “Yaeli” bill would empower parents to push back against the dangerous mix of government overreach and ideological poisoning. If people heard that a religious group was going around “love bombing” teens with praise, cutting them off from concerned friends and family and pushing them to adopt weird beliefs about sexuality, they’d call the behavior “grooming” and the religious group a cult. That’s exactly what has happened in schools, with the government's backing. This must stop.
Opponents claim the “Yaeli Act” is about imposing religion on politics. They’re lying. It’s about protecting children from an unscientific and harmful belief system that has been imposed by the power of the state. Sponsors hope to push the legislation through as early as the end of this year. The more calls members of Congress receive from constituents who support this bill, the sooner it can be moved to a vote and the more likely it will pass.
Contact the Child & Parental Rights Campaign for more information. And please call your representatives and the office of Speaker Mike Johnson. Tell them to protect our families by supporting the “Yaeli Martinez Child Protection Act.”
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Jude Beck
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
