California parents outraged over 'terrifying' mental health bill
California mom Erin Friday joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the legislation and why the measure is an 'abrogation of parental rights.'
A California Democrat mother is sounding the alarm over a bill that would allow mental health professionals to take children as young as 12 years old away from their families so they can seek care without parental consent.
Parental rights advocate Erin Friday joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss her concerns surrounding the "terrifying" legislation that she fears could be followed by other states.
"This is an abrogation of parental rights once again, and here in California, it's almost as if we get to parent our kids until they're age 12, and then the state gets to take them," Friday said Wednesday. "So I call this bill the state-sanctioned kidnapping bill, because there doesn't need to be any allegation of abuse against a parent or a serious threat of suicide of the child before a school counselor can unilaterally decide to take that child and place them in a residential facility."
"In the world of transgenderism," she continued, "that means that a child who goes to a school counselor and says that they are transgender and that their parent won't support them, that child can be whisked off to a LGBTQ community facility and not come home from school that day. This bill is terrifying, and it should terrify every parent in the country, because what we do here in California gets passed along in other states."
Current state law permits minors of at least 12 years of age "to consent to mental health treatment or counseling on an outpatient basis, or to residential shelter services, if the minor is mature enough to participate intelligently in the outpatient services or residential shelter services, as specified, and either the minor would present a danger of serious physical or mental harm to themselves or to others or if the minor is the alleged victim of incest or child abuse."
Democrat-sponsored Assembly Bill 665, which was introduced in February, would remove the requirement that children must be a danger to themselves or others, or be alleged incest or abuse victims, before seeking care without their parents' consent.
"This bill would also align the existing laws by requiring the professional person treating or counseling the minor to consult with the minor before determining whether involvement of the minor’s parent or guardian would be inappropriate," the bill reads.
Friday expressed her concern surrounding the influence mental health professionals can have on children, suggesting they can use this bill to indoctrinate kids into far-left ideology.
"Let's talk about who these counselors are, their caliber is not very high," she said. These are counselors who are indoctrinators, and they get to decide where your child goes that evening."
"It's… just a terrifying bill," she continued.
The legislation notes that about one-half of kids in the state have health insurance through the state-run Medi-Cal, and a majority of those kids come from minority backgrounds.
Current law only allows minors' mental health care bills to be billed to Medi-Cal if the child is "mature enough" to participate in the services and the individual poses a danger to themselves and others, or they are an alleged abuse victim.
The new measure would strip the second requirement, removing an additional barrier for low-income youth seeking to bypass parental consent in order to access mental health treatment.
The bill's champions have largely painted the legislation to be an effort that would expand mental health care access to Black and Latino children as well as LGBTQ+ youth.
"Over one-half of surveyed LGBTQ+ youth reported that not being able to get permission from their parents or guardians was sometimes or always a barrier to accessing mental health services," the bill states.
But critics have been quick to slam the legislation, citing it as the state's latest ploy to strip parents of their rights, all at the expense of state taxpayers.
"I's always money. It's money and sex. This is the answer to everything," Friday responded when asked about the motive behind the bill.
Last September, Gov. Gavin Newsom, signed a bill into law essentially making the Golden State a sanctuary for children seeking transgender-related procedures and drugs.
The policy blocks state officials from enforcing other states' laws that hinder access to transgender medical procedures and drugs.
It also bars state agencies and law enforcement organizations from cooperating with subpoenas and other out-of-state legal actions on these matters. It shields both children and parents seeking to obtain or provide those transgender services from legal consequences.
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The effort came as a series of Republican-led states moved to restrict "gender-affirming" care and procedures for minors.
"They're trying to destroy the family," Friday said. "I'm a Democrat. This is coming from a Democratic family. I don't know what's going on in our country right now, but certainly parents are looked at as pariahs and the state is looking at as is taking the place of parents' rights, including teachers and administrators and mental health providers."
"So I don't know," she continued. "It's pure destruction of the family."
The bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, which makes it one step closer to becoming law.
Fox News' Tyler Olsen contributed to this report.