Newly amended California bill could punish parents refusing to ‘affirm’ child’s gender identity

A California state bill was recently amended so that parents in custody battles may be liable for child abuse if they do not affirm the gender identity of their children.

AB 957, which passed in the State Assembly on May 3, originally proposed that courts deciding custody cases must consider whether each parent were gender-affirming of the child in question.

The amendment has added to the state’s standard of what constitutes parental responsibility for child welfare, requiring that parents must be affirming of a child’s gender identity if they are to be judged fit for providing for "the health, safety, and welfare of the child," in a court of law.