The “Fact Check” squad at the Associated Press is still working overtime to defend the Libertine Left as it crusades against the right of parents to have a say in their children’s so-called “gender affirming care.” Democrats call it "life-saving care."
Josh Kelety wrote an article Wednesday titled "Posts distort Washington estranged minors law." He never specified or linked to actual posts.
Viral posts falsely claimed the bill would result in children being legally taken from their parents if they did not consent to their child’s “gender transition.”
Legal experts and the bill’s primary sponsor say the legislation does not address custody issues or removing youths from their parents. The legislation is intended to help keep estranged young people housed, not remove children from parents.
CLAIM: Washington state lawmakers passed a bill that allows the state government to take children away from parents who refuse to consent to the child receiving gender-affirming care.
THE FACTS: The legislation, Senate Bill 5599, is designed to ensure shelter for teenagers who are seeking reproductive health services or gender-affirming care and, for example, were kicked out by their parents.
They round up their academic experts/activists against the unspecified critics who advocate for parental involvement:
“The posts are inaccurate,” Craig Konnoth, a law professor at the University of Virginia, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “Children cannot be taken away under this bill.”
But it allows children to evade their parents and pursue "protected health care services" like abortions or amputations. (Back in Virginia, Konnoth is railing against Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin for "anti-trans" moves in schools: "By seeking to enforce what they consider to be biological sex, the Youngkin administration, by definition, is engaging in sex discrimination.")
Kelety gave the Republicans eight entire words in his piece:
Local Republican lawmakers have railed against the legislation. Senate GOP leader John Braun said in a March 2 statement that it would drive “a wedge between vulnerable kids and their parents.” Online, some users have twisted its contents to suggest it will see the state ripping children from their homes.
This was a fuller version of Braun's statement: “Children between the ages of 13 and 18 can already access these same health and mental health services under Washington law, without their parents’ permission. The only thing SB 5599 would do is cause harm by driving a wedge between vulnerable kids and their parents, at a time when a teen lacks the perception and judgment to make critical life-altering decisions.
Then Kelety lets the sponsor explain their genius:
“There’s nothing in this bill that speaks to the state taking your child from a home setting,” said Washington state Sen. Marko Liias, a Democrat who is the primary sponsor of the legislation. “We want to make sure everybody in our state, particularly young people who were kicked out of their house because of their identity, have a safe place to get stabilized, get connected to services.”
...“We’re not mandating care, but the protections or the provisions of the bill are designed for youth who are seeking gender-affirming care to have that housing and stability while they’re seeking that care,” Liias said.
Seattle radio host Jason Rantz presented the side that the AP doesn't want to fact check:
Contrary to claims made by Liias and fellow Democrats, the trans youth law does not require minors to show they’re escaping abuse. In fact, the teen may not even allege abuse. Democrats using this claim to justify the bill are not mistaken or experiencing a mere difference of opinion. They are lying.
Democrats rejected an amendment adding language to the bill that says the intent is to address kids who are being harmed by (or could be reasonably harmed by) their parents. Rep. Jamila Taylor (D-Federal Way) said the amendment gets in the way of “keeping children safe” and that “parental rights are not infinite.”
