Republicans Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Protect Parental Rights
Two Republicans, Jim Demint and Peter Hoekstra, have proposed a constitutional amendment to protect parental rights.
The Parental Rights Amendment, the latest in a series of similar proposals, would establish in the U.S. Constitution that parents – not government or any other organization – have “a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit,” Hoekstra’s office said in a statement.
“The Parental Rights Amendment would help stop the assault on parental rights, whether it is an assault from Congress, from the courts or the U.N.,” Hoekstra told CNSNews.com on Tuesday.
It may seem as if this is an unnecessary amendment to the constitution but unfortunatelyit is not. Slowly but surely the government has been taking responsibility and control away from parents when it comes to child rearing. The rights of the parents have slowly been eroded in this country. To give you a local example of this I have to look no further that the “Parental Notification Bill” that has been a controversial issue right here in New Hampshire for the past few years.
New Hampshire had passed a Parental Notification bill that would have required parental permission before a MINOR child had an abortion, this case was to go before the Supreme Court but once John Lynch became governor he killed the bill. Since then there has been an ongoing attempt to pass another Parental Notification law but all attempts have failed.
The state of New Hampshire thinks that it can better raise our children than we can. Our children need a permission slip to give blood, hell they need a permission slip to go on a damn field trip but they can undergo an intrusive medical procedure and the parent has no right to know. Doesn’t a parent have a right to know what their child has been up to? Doesn’t a parent have the right to know if their child is participating in risky behavior? (Not to mention the fact that if the girl is a MINOR it means that she was raped.) It seems like a no-brainer to me.
This is just one example of the state assuming the role of the parents and actually superseding the rights of the parents. This is why we need an amendment to the constitution. We need to stop the government from extending it’s dirty little tentacles where they do not belong.
While I would guess that this proposal is going to go nowhere it is gaining a little steam, 71 representatives have signed on as co-sponsors.
It is bad enough we have to fight to get our country back, we shouldn’t have to fight to get our children back.
America's Watchtower 
Sounds good on paper and it would address some of the disturbing laws the infringe on parental rights.
However, I imagine that the devil is going to be in how the courts interpret it when it comes to child abuse and neglect cases. Does the amendment give the parent rights to dictate how a child is raised after their parent rights have been terminated? Does the amendment allow a mother to keep her newborn in spite of the fact that she is a proven abuser? Standard practice here is to automatically take the child in these extreme instances.
These are issues that will be brought up in the courts. I’m sure there will be others thought up.
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Those are good points Terrant, and I did think about child abuse when I was writing the post. There does come a time when parents lose their right to be parents, ie physical abuse (and I am not talking about a little slap on the butt, but actual abuse), but the vast majority of parents do not fall into that category. I would not be opposed to their being a clause in the amendment that dealt with abuse.
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While I appreciate these individuals desires’ and agree that the rights of parents are being walked on, I don’t think we need to amend the Constitution for it. The Constitution already says freedom, freedom, freedom, I don’t think it needs to say freedom for parents, too. The government has no right to monitor parental activities, including spanking – which parents can be arrested over. This is such a tricky topic, but I don’t trust an amendment to fix this issue. We’re going to sell too many of our freedoms to get this amendment ratified. http://womenofcaliber.wordpress.com
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I agree with you in concept that the constitution should not need this amendment, but the fact that someone actually had to propose one in order to re-affirm parental rights shows you how far we have fallen.
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It gives me the creepy feeling that parents are being slowly and purposely separated from their kids. Maybe it is paranoid, but when I read this post, I thought, what is this, Cuba?
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No, it’s not Cuba. Stop letting the GOP use fear to manipulate you. Get a grip.
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Kellene wrote: “The Constitution already says freedom, freedom, freedom, I don’t think it needs to say freedom for parents, too. The government has no right to monitor parental activities, including spanking – which parents can be arrested over.”
My thoughts: What is sad here is that our government is taking so many liberties not afforded them through our Constitution that we are left with no other options but to create bills and amendments. Perhaps it is not the route we would normally want to take, however, I feel it is one we must take.
Our government officials are racing to the finish line – to finish off anything that resembles America, freedom, sovereignty, First Amendment rights, Second Amendment rights, etc.
This is about doing what is right in a government/world that has suddenly gone very wrong.
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That is where the problem lies. The government is taking liberties that the constitution does not grant them. An amendment to affirm parent’s rights should not be needed, but it is based on the over-reaching of the government. The founders would be shocked, they would never have imagined that we have reached this point.
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What a great idea. I think it should be called the “No Child Left Unbeaten Amendment”.
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Yeah, cause every parent beats their child right? Moron.
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What I want to know is if this is just about “notification” or “permission?” Would the bill have only notified the parents or required their consent for the minor’s procedure?
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