Mother of Transgender Teen Appeals Dismissal

A Minnesota mother filed an appeal in federal court this week arguing she has a right to sue state, school, and health officials who enabled her teenager to undergo sex change procedures without her consent.

A federal judge in May ruled against Anmarie Calgaro, stating that although her parental rights were intact, she did not have a right to sue for damages.

In 2015, while reportedly living with his biological father, Calgaro’s 16-year-old son obtained a letter of emancipation with the help of a legal aid attorney. Calgaro was not notified that her parental rights were terminated. Because of the letter, her son was granted Medicaid benefits and prescribed hormone therapy drugs and narcotics. When Calgaro found out, she was denied access to school and medical records.

The judge in May agreed the termination was unlawful and said Calgaro’s parental rights were intact, but refused to acknowledge those rights had been violated by the officials who guided her son through supposed emancipation and then sex change treatments.

“There’s a real disconnect in the district court decision where the mother’s parental rights are admitted but not honored,” said Erick Kaardal, special counsel for the Thomas More Society. Kaardal said Calgaro’s son was steered toward a life-changing, permanent body altering process by officials with “no legal or moral right to usurp the role of a parent.”
 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: August 7, 2017