Supreme Court of Switzerland / Adobe Stock
CV NEWS FEED // The Swiss Supreme Court recently ruled that two parents who lost custody of their teenage daughter for opposing her “gender transition” are immune from the threat of criminal charges for refusing to hand over documents to complete her legal “sex change.”
CatholicVote previously reported that criminal charges had been threatened in July by the Court of Justice in Geneva, which had upheld the order a lower court made in February. The original order required the parents to hand over the legal identity documents their daughter requires to legally change her sex and register as male.
According to a September 25 news release from Alliance Defending Freedom International, the nonprofit legal firm representing the parents in court, the parents argue that their daughter is incapable of making fully informed decisions about her medical treatment.
The girl’s parents also argue she “is not able to discern the implications of a so-called ‘sex change’ under the law, which would make her vulnerable to an array of dangerous physical interventions, including puberty blockers and surgeries,” the news release states.
“Furthermore, they argue the long-term health consequences of ‘transitioning’ cannot be fully assessed by a teenager, especially considering the outside influences, including from her school, to which she continues to be subjected,” ADF International added.
CatholicVote previously reported that the Swiss government took the gender-confused teen away from her parents in 2023 and placed her in a government-funded youth shelter. The parents are opposed to gender transitions. They had been seeking mental health help for their daughter.
The case is not yet resolved, however. According to ADF International, the Supreme Court is expected to make another decision about the case within the next six months, ruling on whether or not the teen has sufficient mental capacity to make her own choices about her medical treatment.
The teen’s father, who has remained anonymous along with his wife for their safety, said that their “hope lies now with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.”
“We just want to protect our daughter, who’s been led down the dangerous path of ‘transitioning’ by activists in her school and a lobby organisation,” he said, according to ADF International. “As a parent you want to protect your children. The state should not have the power to criminalise loving parents who want the best for their child.”
ADF International reported that the Swiss Supreme Court is the “last domestic recourse for the parents.”
“It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to correct this grave injustice,” Dr. Felix Boellmann, lead lawyer on the case, stated in the news release.
“It is imperative that the Court recognizes, clearly and decisively, that the parents are the primary decisionmakers when it comes to the best interest of the child,” he later added. “Now the court needs to step in to defend the wellbeing of this child, and in so doing, all other children in Switzerland. The Court must abide by Switzerland’s international human rights obligations to protect both the child and parental rights.”
