- Mary and Jeremy Cox, who are Catholic, were investigated by officials in Indiana for refusing to confirm their child’s transgender identity
- The couple claimed this would conflict with their religious beliefs, but their child, then 15, was removed by child protective services
- The removal has been upheld by the Indiana appeals court and the couple is asking the Supreme Court to hear their case
An Indiana couple has appealed to the Supreme Court after their child was removed by child protective services because the parents refused to use their chosen name and pronouns.
Mary and Jeremy Cox, who are Catholic, were investigated by officials in Indiana for refusing to confirm their child’s transgender identity, claiming it conflicted with their Christian beliefs.
“This is what every parent fears,” Mary and Jeremy Cox said ahead of their high-profile legal battle.
After completing the state investigation, the Indiana Department of Child Services reportedly determined that the abuse allegations against Mary and Jeremy were unsubstantiated.
However, the state still argued that the gender identity disagreement was troubling to the child. In 2021, their child was taken and placed in another home when he was about 15 years old.
Mary and Jeremy Cox, who are Catholic, were investigated by officials in Indiana for refusing to confirm their child’s transgender identity
The removal has been upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals and will now move to the Supreme Court
“Keeping a child away from loving parents because of their religious beliefs – even if the state admits there was no abuse or neglect – is wrong and against the law,” attorney Lord Windham, representing the Coxes, told Fox News .
“The Court must take up this case and make it clear that other states cannot take children away because of ideological differences.”
Adding: ”If this can happen in Indiana, it can happen anywhere.’
The couple’s son reportedly told them in 2019 that he identified as a girl.
The Coxes declined to refer to the child by their preferred name and pronouns, citing their religious beliefs in unchangeable sex.
The DCS received allegations that the child’s physical and mental condition had been compromised because her parents did not refer to her by her preferred pronouns. Reports of alleged verbal and emotional abuse were filed over the teen’s gender identity. These are allegations that the Coxes deny.
The Indiana attorney general’s office argued that the conflict over the child’s gender identity was not the reason the state took her from her parents.
“Rather, petitioners’ child was removed because the child had a serious eating disorder that petitioners had been unable to effectively address for two years, endangering the child’s brain and bone health,” the attorney’s office argued -general.
In 2021, officials in Indiana investigated the couple and placed the child in a “gender-affirming” home.
The Coxes took their case to court, where the decision to remove the child and restrict visitation rights was upheld.
The Child Protective Service of Indiana, under the supervision of Eric Miller, enforced the child’s removal from their parents
The Court of Appeal also confirmed the removal. The case could now go to the Supreme Court.
“We love our son and wanted to care for him, but the state of Indiana robbed us of that opportunity by removing him from our home and forbidding us from discussing gender with him.”
“We are hopeful that the judges will hear our case and protect other parents from the nightmare we experienced,” she added.
The Indiana Department of Child Services, led by Eric Miller, said the department “does not comment on pending litigation.”
