A father and mother are appealing to Switzerland’s highest court as they fight to protect their teenaged daughter from an attempted gender transition.
“Our hope lies now with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court,” the father, who asked to remain anonymous in order to protect his family’s privacy, told The Daily Wire on Wednesday. “We just want to protect our daughter, who’s been pushed down the dangerous path of ‘transitioning’ by activists in her school and a lobby organisation.”
“As a parent, you want to protect your children,” he added. “The state should not have the power to criminalize loving parents who want the best for their child.”
The Daily Wire is first reporting the appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Schweizerisches Bundesgericht), filed with the support of ADF International on Monday evening.
The parents are appealing a July ruling from Geneva’s Court of Justice, which ordered them to turn over their daughter’s legal documents in order for the state to help her change what sex she is listed as in the civil registry, according to ADF International. In other words, the state wishes to help her change her sex in the civil registry from female to male.
The young girl first began expressing confusion with her gender when she was around 13 years old, according to her father. When her parents declined to put her on puberty blockers, they embarked on a years-long legal battle that resulted in the government removing her from their care.
They fear that the legal “sex change” may lead their daughter to also attempt a physical sex change, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, according to ADF International. The parents also assert that their daughter’s mental and physical well-being is in danger while she continues to live in the government youth shelter where she has been placed.
“Not only have these parents not had their concerns heard by the court, but they have also endured a severe violation of their rights as loving parents with the court transferring authority over their daughter’s medical care from them to the state, in addition to ordering that she reside in a government shelter,” said Dr. Felix Boellmann, lead lawyer on the case for ADF International. “It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to correct this grave injustice.”
The parents argue in their Monday appeal that their daughter isn’t able to understand the implications of a legal “sex change,” arguing not only that a teenager cannot actually understand the implications of such a decision, but also that this legal change would then make her vulnerable to all manner of further gender transition procedures.
They also argue that no medical professionals or psychiatrists have conclusively assessed that their daughter has the ability to understand the consequences of these decisions, ADF International said, noting that this is a fundamental requirement under the law.
The Swiss Federal Court may take up to six months to reach a decision on this matter.
The case has garnered high profile attention, particularly after Tesla CEO Elon Musk weighed in on the case on “X,” saying: “This suicidal mind virus is spreading throughout Western Civilization.”
BREAKING: Swiss parents who had their child taken from them by authorities for refusing to give her puberty blockers have lost their court case.
Under threat of criminal charges, they are now forced to hand over documents for her legal ‘sex change.’
— Billboard Chris 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@BillboardChris) July 31, 2024
“My daughter knows that I love her very deeply,” the father told The Daily Signal in an August interview. “She knows that her mom loves her very deeply. She knows that her brother loves her very deeply. She knows that we miss her, and we want her home.
“And I believe,” he added, “that the only path to fulfilling her dreams, making the most of her future, is with her family.”
Boellmann, ADF International’s lead lawyer on the case, stressed that in order for children to be safeguarded from harmful agendas, governments must respect parents’ rights.
“No child should be separated from their loving parents by the state,” he said in a statement. “It is imperative that the Court recognizes, clearly and decisively, that the parents are the primary decision makers when it comes to the best interest of the child.”
“Now the court needs to step in to defend the wellbeing of this child, and in so doing, all other children in Switzerland,” he added. “The Court must abide by Switzerland’s international human rights obligations to protect both the child and parental rights.”