The Christian parents of a 14-year-old girl in the United Kingdom who says that she wants to be a boy have filed suit against authorities who are siding with the teen and want to force her parents to allow the girl to undergo a “gender transition.”
The parents’ attorney, Michael Phillips, has advised that if they fail to follow the instructions of social workers, the teen could be taken away from them.
“They’ve told us if we don’t allow her to be called ‘Mark’ and give permission for her to be assessed at one of these centers that’s pushing the transgender agenda, we’re emotionally abusing her,” mother Kate Wilson (an alias) told the Daily Mail this week.
Wilson and her husband believe that their daughter is too young to receive life-altering medical treatment, while social workers assert that the girl’s sudden emotional problems stem from her frustration with her own skin.
Notes from the workers also cite the couple’s Christian faith, stating that they have “raised concerns with regards to parents’ strong Christian values and the impact of emotional harm.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Wilson articulate their strong beliefs and this at times is difficult for [their daughter] to accept, this being considered a homophobic and bigoted viewpoint within liberal circles,” another note reads.
Social workers state that the girl is in a “heterosexual” relationship with another girl in school.
“The rights of parents in the U.K. are being eroded, especially those who have traditional Christian values. It is leaving parents to feel fearful, vulnerable and intimidated,” Wilson told the Sunday Times. “We were told by the psychiatrist that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) said that if the name change does not happen, then she would be a high suicide risk.”
The situation began when the Wilson’s daughter, whose birth name is not being released because of her age, struggled with an eating disorder and was discovered by her father with cuts on her arm. In seeking to obtain help for the girl, the Wilsons contacted the teen’s school, which referred them to a counselor. The couple also contacted the aforementioned Mental Health Services department for further assistance.
But, much to their surprise, they were suddenly thrust into a discussion with the organization that their daughter really wants to be a boy. The Wilsons say that it was the first time they had ever heard such a claim about their child.
They also discovered that the counselor at the school had been calling their daughter “Mark” for weeks as per the teen’s request.
“I can’t believe it was kept from us,” Wilson told the Daily Mail. “Don’t you think as parents we should have been informed? We’ve gone over and over together if there was an sign, anything we should have picked up on. But there was nothing. … For some reason she got it into her head she wanted to be a boy once she was referred to a counselor and her CAMHS worker at the end of April.”
The Wilsons have discovered that one of their daughter’s friends also cuts herself, and state that their daughter has run away from home at least twice and has become moody and argumentative. They believe she has emotional problems, but should not be permitted to make drastic decisions about her gender at 14.
“We’re not doing this because we’re bigots and certainly not because we’re homophobic. We’re not,” Mr. Wilson said. “We’re doing it because [our daughter] doesn’t know where she’s going.”
“Surely as parents it’s up to us to act in what we believe to be our daughter’s best interests, not some social worker pushing their liberal agenda,” he stated. “After all, it’s us who love her. We are her family—not the State.”
The couple will meet with officials next month to decide whether the girl will be allowed to be called “Mark” or the name given to her at birth.
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