The U.S. Department of Justice told the Supreme Court that parents can sue when a state cuts them out of a child’s medical decisions. This is a friend-of-the-court brief, not a Supreme Court ruling.
On September 15, 2026, Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed a merits-stage amicus brief for the United States in International Partners for Ethical Care, Inc., et al. v. Bob Ferguson, Governor of Washington, et al., No. 25-840, supporting the parent petitioners. The Court took the case on a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had dismissed the suit for lack of standing.
Washington law, as the brief quotes it, says that when a child runs away to a licensed shelter seeking so-called “gender-affirming treatment” — the state’s label for services meant to treat a child as the opposite sex — the State “shall” offer to make referrals for behavioral health services for the minor if the child asks, regardless of parental consent (Wash. Rev. Code § 13.32A.082(3)(b)). DOJ argues that parents who object to a scheme that displaces their control over the medical care their child may access have standing to challenge it.
On September 17, the Justice Department wrote on X: “Parents should NEVER be kept in the dark about transgender-related medical decisions involving their children.” When the state steps between parents and children, DOJ said, parents deserve their day in court. “Parenting belongs to parents—not the state.”
The Supreme Court has not ruled that the Washington law is unconstitutional. DOJ asks the Court to vacate the Ninth Circuit’s judgment and remand. The question now is standing — whether those parents can be heard — not a final decision on the statute.
Primary sources
- Brief for the United States as amicus curiae supporting petitioners, No. 25-840 (filed Sept. 15, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Justice on X, Sept. 17, 2026