FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7th, 2025
Contact: Ashley Vaughan
ashley@ncvalues.org

PARENTS PROTECTION ACT PASSES IN NC SENATE

RALEIGH, NC — Today, the North Carolina Senate passed SB 442, the Parents Protection Act, on a 32 – 13 vote to shield parents who refuse gender transition interventions from losing custody and facing prosecution, and to facilitate adoptions. The bill now moves to the North Carolina House for consideration.

In response to a growing number of cases across the country where parents have lost custody of their children for not supporting gender-transition interventions, SB 442 establishes legal protections for biological and adoptive parents. The legislation ensures that raising a child according to biological reality cannot be considered child abuse or reason for loss of custody under North Carolina law.

“No parent should ever face the nightmare of losing custody of their child simply for refusing to go along with dangerous and unproven gender transition interventions,” said Tami Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the NC Values Coalition. “We are grateful the NC Senate passed the Parents Protection Act because it ensures that loving and responsible parenting is not a crime. Parents should be able to make decisions for the well-being of their children without fear of the government taking their child away.”

What SB 442 Does:

  • Protects parental rights by making clear that raising a child in accordance with their biological sex—whether in name, pronouns, or medical care—does not constitute child abuse under North Carolina law.

  • Shields  adoptive parents from being denied placements or licensure simply because they decline to support a child’s gender transition.

  • Clarifies criminal law so that such parenting decisions cannot be used as the basis for misdemeanor or felony child abuse charges.

  • Affirms religious liberty by allowing parents and families to raise children consistent with their deeply held beliefs without facing legal consequences.

Medical experts are backing away from the use of gender-transition interventions on minors. Research shows that 60% of children who socially transition go on to pursue medical interventions which can have long-term harms, including sterility, cardiovascular damage, loss of bone density, and long-term psychological effects. In light of these concerns, over a dozen U.S. states and several European nations have begun restricting such treatments for minors. Last week the US Department of Health and Human Services released a new report calling for greater use of psychotherapy for youth with gender dysphoria and stating that there is “deep uncertainty about the purported benefits” of gender transition interventions.

The bill also invalidates current NC DHHS policy that has made religious adoptive parents vulnerable to disqualification. It ensures that no family can be denied the opportunity to care for a child simply because they won’t support gender transition—a provision that both protects religious liberty and helps address the urgent need for  families.

The bill is sponsored by Reps. Donnie Loftis, Neal Jackson, Brian Biggs, and Jennifer Balkcom.

###