We live in a world where both the federal government and the states are increasingly usurping the rights of parents.

It is a world where, at both the federal and state level, education is becoming more and more about cutting out the participation and role of parents.28

A world where privacy is under fire and our every move seems to be tracked by someone or some thing.

So I now ask the question — Parents, have you heard about House Bill 847?

This bill is very important and will be a platform for extending and solidifying Parental Rights in North Carolina. This bill has my support and I hope it will have yours as well.

With the permission of Brenda Brown, NC coordinator for ParentalRights.org, I have the letter below to share with you.

H847

I wanted to ask for help with a bill that we have been working on for a while that deals with parental rights.

Most people don’t realize that in NC, parents are being overruled in making decisions for their children. We are trying to fight back and undo many of the horrible statutes passed under democratic rule.

Did you know that in NC, it is legal for a child OF ANY AGE to give consent to receive anti-depressants WITHOUT their parent’s knowledge or consent?

Did you know that in NC, it is ILLEGAL for a pediatrician to tell a parent that a child is having suicidal thoughts, UNLESS the child gives the doctor permission?

Did you know that your pediatrician CANNOT give parents the results of drug testing UNLESS the child agrees for the parent to have the results?

Did you know it is LEGAL for a child OF ANY AGE to agree to treatment to change their gender WITHOUT a parent’s knowledge or consent AND the state will pay for the treatment (except for surgery)?

NC General Statute 90-21.5 is the statute that allows for each of these circumstances.

As parents, we must fight back to protect our children. We believe that children belong to parents and that parents know how to best raise children, and what values to raise our children. Young children should NOT be making medical decisions. Those decisions should be left to parents.

So we are fighting back.

H847 establishes in NC General Statutes the “liberty of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, and care of his or her child is a fundamental right. Neither the state nor any agency or locality shall infringe upon a parent’s fundamental rights to the care, custody, and control of his child. This shall not be construed to apply to a parent’s action or decision that would end life.”

It also specifically gives parents the right to make medical decisions for children when doctors disagree on diagnosis and treatment WITHOUT being accused of medical child abuse.

Parents in NC have been accused of medical child abuse, especially in difficult to diagnose diseases like mitochondrial disease. Parents who had been charged with medical child abuse in NC responded to an anonymous survey. Some respondents were medical professionals.

These parents were reported for medical child abuse by teachers or medical professionals who had NEVER treated the child. This really is a common sense bill but we find once again that we must fight for even the most common sense measures.

NC would be the FIRST state in the Union to pass such a bill giving these protections to parents. We have partnered with a broad spectrum of groups including NC Values Coalition, Mito Action, and NC Family Policy Council to produce an excellent bill.

How can you help?

This bill has passed the NC House and is now assigned to the Judiciary II committee in the NC Senate. It needs to pass the NC Senate in the short session which starts April 25 or the bill dies.

Could you please make 3 phone calls or send 3 emails to the following senators and simple ask them to place H847 on the Judiciary II committee calendar in the short session?

These are the 3 chairs of the committee:

Sen. Warren Daniel: (919) 715-7823 Warren.Daniel@ncleg.net

Sen. Shirley Randleman: (919)733-5743 Shirley.Randleman@ncleg.net

Sen. Tamara Barringer (919)733-5653 Tamara. Barringer@ncleg.net

Please pass this along to any friends who would be willing to help us call or email these senators.

Thanks so much for your help!

Brenda Brown NC coordinator, ParentalRights.org