Rep. Mary Miller proposes bill to shield parents who reject gender transition for children

Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) unveiled the Yaeli Martinez Child Protection Act, aimed at protecting parents who choose to raise children according to their biological sex and who refuse gender-transition interventions. The measure would prohibit federally funded state child-welfare agencies from removing children or refusing foster or adoptive placements solely on that basis. It amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and relevant sections of the Social Security Act, tying adherence to the receipt of federal funds and creating a private right of action for affected families.

The bill also seeks changes to the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act to limit interstate custody claims in such disputes. Named after Yaeli Martinez, a California teenager who was separated from her mother during a gender-identity conflict and later died by suicide, the legislation frames the issue as a constitutional protection of parental rights. Miller argues the proposal stops bureaucrats from using taxpayer-funded welfare systems to separate children from families that do not endorse gender transition.