Courts Meddling in Families Sparks Growing Alarm

A bizarre case in Idaho where a court ordered that parents allow "toxic" grandparents to be involved in the lives of the children, despite the parents' wishes, raises troubling concerns about parental rights and government overreach into the family, explain ParentsUSA chief David Delugas and Law Professor David Pimentel from the University of Idaho in this interview with The New American magazine's Alex Newman for Conversations That Matter. The two experts warn that if courts can meddle here, it sets a very troubling precedent allowing government--rather than parents--to make critical decisions for children under the guise of the child's "best interest." The case has national implications and many states have "slippery slope" policies like these, allowing judges to second-guess parents. Newman also warns about where these ideas will go, pointing to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and laws passed in Europe implementing it.