A Minnesota mother has sued her transgender teenage daughter for transitioning without her consent, NBC News is reporting . Also named in the lawsuit are county health boards, a school district, the clinic that helped her transition, and local health care nonprofit organizations.
Anmarie Calgaro told a court last week that her daughter, who was born biologically male, was allowed to transition without her knowledge or consent, a violation of Minnesota law that requires parents to consent to medical treatment given to their children.
“It was brought to my knowledge that my son (sic) began receiving hormone replacement treatments from Park Nicollet Health Services to transition from male to female, with medical assistance paying for this. I was not consulted or informed about this in any way.”
Anmarie Calgaro is suing her daughter, and several healthcare providers, for violating her parental rights https://t.co/qnW1DcwJq8
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) November 19, 2016
The girl, who has not been publicly named, insists that her mother has not had any contact with her in years. Specifically, in a 2015 legal filing, the girl – who at that time had not yet transitioned and identified himself with male pronouns – said that his mother told him she wants no contact with him, knows that he had run away from home and had made no attempts to contact him or encourage him to come home, and had not reported him to the authorities as a runaway and had essentially washed her hands of him.
Calgaro denies those claims, however. Regardless, in October 2015 the state decreed that the girl could make her own medical decisions – without letting Calgaro know, she says.
“The news that county agencies and health service providers, the school and other county and state offices were completely bypassing me came as a total shock. Why wasn’t I even notified?
Anmarie Calgaro sued her daughter, after she kicked her daughter out for being trans, for getting trans treatment https://t.co/J3A8YRGd5e
— Glimmers of Joie (@Theobromia) November 18, 2016
Because the girl has not lived with a parent for some time, Minnesota law essentially regards her as an adult , at least regarding medical care, according to CBS News . Although Minnesota does not specifically have a procedure for emancipating minors, the law says that a child not living at home can make decisions for his or her medical care as if they were an adult.
“Any minor who is living separate and apart from parents… and who is managing personal financial affairs, regardless of the source or extent of the minor’s income, may give effective consent to personal medical, dental, mental and other health services, and the consent of no other person is required.”
The implications of the law extend beyond gender reassignment treatment. Minnesota law requires that a minor seeking an abortion cannot get one until 48 hours after she has notified her parents. The law does not, however, require her parents’ consent. Not coincidentally, Calgaro is represented by the Thomas More Society, an anti-abortion group that has tried to block Minnesota’s law allowing minors to get abortions without their parents’ consent.
As of this writing, it is not clear how far along her daughter is in her transition. It is clear that she has been receiving hormone treatment, but it is highly unlikely that she has had gender reassignment surgery. That doesn’t generally take place until the individual is 18, says Jamison Green, a former president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Regardless, Calgaro is suing to have all treatment being given to her daughter stopped immediately.
Do you think a non-custodial parent should have the right to stop a 17-year-old from transitioning? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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