He, She, They: The Pronoun Debate Will Likely Land at the Supreme Court

As with the constitutional right to abortion access, which the Supreme Court last June nullified as not protected from government interference under the 14th Amendment, the Constitution says nothing about parental rights. The Supreme Court ruled against the grandparents, finding it reasonable to assume that the mother would act in the best interests of her children. Absent a constitutional amendment, the Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of which rights the Constitution protects and which rights it doesn’t. Although the Foote case does not raise First Amendment arguments, the fact that the Supreme Court overrode a state’s anti-discrimination law in favor of another constitutional interest is telling. Never mind that the Constitution itself says nothing about parental rights, let alone direct that school administrators adhere to parental choice regarding gender identity and pronouns.