Taking a Stand for Parental Rights

Washington, DC - March 12, 2025

On March 10, 2025, Dr. Simone Gold and the AFLDS legal team filed an amici curiae brief with the Supreme Court of the United States, in support of the Petitioners in Mahmoud v. Taylor. A coalition of Maryland parents (Petitioners) are suing the Montgomery County Board of Education (Defendant) for forcing their young children to read controversial books pushing radical gender ideology without parental notification or the opportunity to opt out. By submitting our amici curiae brief, AFLDS joins the Petitioners in calling for SCOTUS to reverse the decision of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In short, we are asking the High Court to affirm the Petitioners' parental rights to protect their children from dangerous curriculum contrary to their religious beliefs. 

In November 2022, the Board of Education introduced “LGBTQ-inclusive” storybooks for instructing elementary school students. These books champion pride parades, gender transitioning, and pronoun preferences for children. Despite initially assuring hundreds of concerned parents that they would be notified when the books would be read and could opt their children out, the Board reversed course in March 2023. Stripped of their parental rights, the Petitioners sued for damages and injunctive relief to prohibit the Board from continuing its no-notice and no-opt-out policy. The Petitioners argued that the Board’s policy violated the Free Exercise Clause by overriding their freedom to direct the religious upbringing of their children and by burdening their religious exercise. 

The district court denied the Petitioners’ motion for a preliminary injunction, holding that they could not show “that the no-opt-out policy burdens their religious exercise.” The Fourth Circuit later affirmed the lower court’s ruling so the Petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court. SCOTUS granted the Petitioners’ writ of certiorari and is set to hear their case in April of this year. 

America’s Frontline Doctors holds the position that the Petitioners are engaged in the lawful exercise of their constitutionally protected parental rights to shield and protect their minor children from being exposed to radical gender ideology. These fundamental rights include the religious upbringing of their children and protecting them from real or potential harms. The psychological and physical harms of prematurely exposing minor children to sexualized materials, such as those pushed by the Board’s curriculum, are well documented. Further, the reading of such materials to children can arguably be characterized as criminal child abuse. 

Additionally, parental rights cannot be co-opted by government actors such as the Montgomery County Board of Education. By denying the Petitioners’ motion for an injunction, the Fourth Circuit allowed the Board’s egregious violations of the Petitioners’ parental rights to continue. This is directly contrary to numerous well-settled court precedents and centuries of tradition.

AFLDS attorney David Dalia states, “When I tell people that the parents LOST in both courts in their attempt to shield their kindergarten-aged children from exposure to inappropriate, harmful and highly sexualized materials, they are incredulous. Parents have the fundamental right to protect their children from any and all harmful influences, as affirmed by numerous precedents from the United States Supreme Court. Our amici curiae brief is packed with relevant and accurate medical research on these subjects. The same day we filed our brief in Mahmoud, SCOTUS granted certiorari in the related case of Chiles v. Salazar, involving Colorado’s Counseling Censorship Law. The Court is clearly interested in these parental rights issues, which I expect they will reaffirm. I urge everyone to watch Dr. Gold’s interview with a courageous Colorado mother who rescued her daughter from being transitioned by her school without her parent’s knowledge. This interview succinctly and compassionately covers all of these issues.”

AFLDS Founder and President Dr. Simone Gold added, “Usurpation, no matter who wields it, has no place in the United States of America. Allowing the Montgomery County Board of Education to usurp the parental authority of Maryland parents threatens not only our constitutionally protected rights, but the lives of children across the country. The Board’s reckless policies are causing irreversible psychological and physical harm to Maryland children as we speak. We cannot allow a precedent to be set in which parental rights are seized by the State. This will come to a state near you if not stopped. This must end now.”

This pivotal case for parental rights is poised to set a legal precedent for any citizen battling government usurpation across the country. America’s Frontline Doctors proudly stand in solidarity with the courageous parents of Maryland and all parents taking a stand for parental rights. 

Stay tuned - We will keep you updated on the status of this case and our efforts to safeguard the constitutional rights of every citizen. 

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Media Contact Lisa Alexander, Communications Director | Media@AFLDS.org