Mothers, Rights, and the Fight for Our Children
Today we celebrate mothers—but we must also fight for their rightful place at the center of their children’s lives, a place the law is increasingly trying to occupy.
While today is about celebrating our moms—and I certainly want to celebrate mine, Debi, who is no longer with us—it’s also a moment to reflect on what it really means to honor motherhood. The best parts of my mom weren’t shaped by social approval or conformity. They came from her stubborn independence, her refusal to accept that the world’s ways were always right, and her belief that parenting was a sacred calling that couldn’t be delegated.
That same spirit is under threat today, and the fight to preserve it has reached the highest court in the land. Just weeks ago, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case that will decide whether parents have the right to opt their children out of classroom instruction that conflicts with their moral and religious beliefs. At issue is whether public schools can require children to participate in lessons featuring LGBTQ+ themes without even offering parents the chance to say, “This isn’t right for our family.”
Supporters of the school district’s policy call this a matter of inclusion and tolerance. But inclusion for whom? And tolerance for what? These are questions that mothers and fathers—not government institutions—have a fundamental right to answer for their children. The district argues that allowing parents to opt out would create a discriminatory environment, assuming without debate that the state’s ideological framework is both correct and compulsory.
The Supreme Court made its view clear nearly a century ago in Pierce v. Society of Sisters, declaring that “the child is not the mere creature of the state.” Yet today, we’re once again asking whether parents should have any meaningful say in the most personal and formative parts of their children’s upbringing. If the Court rules against parental opt-out, it will mark a new low point in the state’s encroachment on family life.
If we want to truly honor mothers, we must defend their irreplaceable role as the first and most enduring teachers of their children. That means standing firm against institutions that believe they are entitled to replace parental wisdom with ideological programming.
Today, I remember my mom, Debi—not for her compliance, but for her courage to live and raise her children according to her own convictions. That is what every mother deserves the freedom to do. And that is a freedom worth fighting for, long after the flowers have faded and the brunch reservations are forgotten.