Some slaveowners went so far as to argue that they were, in fact, doing African-Americans a service by enslaving them. We have seen this happen over and over again, from the abominable practice of slave-owning in antebellum America to the nightmarish sterilizations that took place in the early years of the Third Reich. The logical progression here is horribly flawed but highly appealing to human nature: if only we can make something legal, that will make it natural. This is where things become tricky, of course, because in a democratic nation the idea of “natural law” very quickly becomes “the will of the majority.” In a democracy, whatever most people think is permissible becomes enshrined in civil law, and from there it is only a step or two before people begin to argue that since something is legal, it must be natural and fine. Even if they have not been given the special grace of perceiving the truth of divine law, they have (as Paul tells us in Romans 1) been given the truth of natural law, and they have a responsibility to raise their children in accordance with that natural law. But even non-religious parents have a responsibility. Catholic parents, of course, have the responsibility to raise their children in accordance with the Church’s teachings and to do all they can to set their children on a path towards salvation. But parents, as cooperators with God in bringing life, have a unique authority over their children, as seen in God’s commandment to honor our fathers and mothers.Īs with all authority, the authority parents have over their children comes with corresponding responsibilities. Godparents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, and priests all have varying levels of authority, and the abuse of that authority can also lead to grievous wounds. This is not to say that parents are the only adults with authority over children or that children can only be wounded or traumatized by their parents. On the other hand, however, parents can bestow particularly powerful curses and particularly heavy burdens upon their children. Parents can bless their children or pray against demonic forces on their children’s behalf in a way that teachers and other adults, however well-intentioned, simply cannot parents’ prayers and intercessions for their children are more efficacious. The Catholic Church is clear that parents have authority over their children-and that authority extends beyond the worldly into the spiritual realm. In a situation like this, what authority do parents truly have over their children, and how ought the civil government mediate when there is a disagreement between two parents about how to raise a child? For Catholics, a proper understanding of parental authority, responsibility, and the rights that derive from that responsibility is necessary to sustain civilization. However, this situation has a challenging nuance, as it involves the issue of parental rights. All of this is well documented by many experts. Medical professionals from pediatricians to psychologists, ranging from conservative Catholics to pro-gay rights progressives, have expressed serious concerns with the rapidly increasing practice of affirming gender dysphoria among young children. ![]() But if sex-change hormones or other procedures like surgeries take place, children-at least 90 percent of whom would eventually come to love their biological sex-are rendered sexually stunted or even infertile. The vast majority of children who struggle with their biological sex eventually come to embrace it, to the tune of over 90 percent. The medical and moral objections to subjecting pre-pubescent children to irreversible sex-change procedures have been treated thoroughly elsewhere. Younger also faced being forced to address his son by a female name, required to attend transgender-affirming classes, and prohibited from taking his son anywhere dressed as a boy. ![]() Georgulas from facilitating hormone replacement. ![]() The jury said that because the child’s mother Anne Georgulas (the parents are divorced) asserts that James is actually a girl, Mr. In Texas, a jury ruled that Jeffrey Younger could not do anything to prevent his seven-year-old son James from undergoing irreversible hormone-replacement procedures, which can cause infertility and significant health issues if used through puberty. This month, the question of how to deal with the rapid spread of gender dysphoria among young children reached a breaking point.
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