Our Children Deserve Better: This Term, the US Supreme Court Can Help

Commentary

Nelson Mandela once said, “Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”

American adults seem to be falling short in this regard. However, we have an opportunity to address this issue, as highlighted in the current U.S. Supreme Court term.

There are six cases addressing various issues affecting children, including laws aimed at safeguarding children’s development and maturation, as well as safety, dignity, and choice within the education system.

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Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is supporting Tennessee in United States v. Skrmetti, emphasizing the importance of states enacting laws to protect children from harmful medical practices.

The Supreme Court is also deliberating on cases concerning the assignment of sports teams based on sex, with two cases addressing this issue in West Virginia and Idaho. These cases aim to maintain fairness and safety in women’s sports by preventing males from participating, given their natural physical advantages.

Town of Middleborough

In the Town of Middleborough, the court has an opportunity to correct a lower court’s ruling that jeopardizes students’ free speech rights at school. In L.M., a young man is challenging his school district for allegedly suppressing his speech by ordering him to remove T-shirts that expressed messages contrary to officials’ preferred viewpoints.

After being bombarded with messages from his middle school that sex and gender are fluid and subjectively professed, not based on biology, Liam Morrison attended class wearing a T-shirt that read, “There are only two genders.” He declined school officials’ instruction to remove the shirt, so they forced him to go home. Later, Liam came to class wearing a shirt that read, “There are [censored] genders” in peaceful protest of the school’s allegedly suppressing his speech. For this, he was sent to the principal’s office. ADF is asking the Supreme Court to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that we believe denies Liam’s free speech rights.

In sum, there’s much at stake for our children’s future in this Supreme Court term. We cannot instill violence and fear—whether that’s against a child’s body, mental health, or constitutional rights—and expect a safe, secure, and flourishing society. Our children deserve better.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.