Fact check: Donald Trump Jr. and conservatives spread false claims about Washington bill, gender surgery

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·5 min read
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The claim: Washington bill allows children to be taken from parents who ban gender transition

An April 15 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) shows a screenshot of a tweet that includes a photo of Washington state Rep. Alicia Rule holding a microphone.

"BREAKING: Washington has passed a bill allowing children to be legally taken from their parents if their parents don't consent to their gender transition," reads the tweet.

The post generated over 3,000 likes in less than a week. An April 15 tweet with a similar claim shared by Donald Trump Jr. received over 20,000 likes.

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Our rating: False

The bill referenced in the post does not allow the state to take a child from their parents' custody, according to multiple legal experts and the bill’s sponsor. Rather, it allows runaway and homeless youth seeking protected health care services to stay at temporary shelters without immediately notifying their parents.

Bill does not allow children to be taken from parents

On April 19, Washington lawmakers passed Senate Bill 5599, which allows runaway or homeless minors seeking gender-affirming treatment or reproductive care to temporarily stay at shelter without immediately notifying their parents. The bill has passed both houses of the state legislature but has not yet been signed into law.

But contrary to the post’s claim, the legislation won’t legally take a child from their parents, according to the bill sponsor and multiple legal experts.

“Nowhere is that stated in the bill, nor does existing law say that,” said Erin Hut, a spokesperson for Democratic Washington state Sen. Marko Liias, the bill’s sponsor. “This bill is about ensuring children have access to safe, stable shelter when they do not have that in their own home.”

Craig Konnoth, a law professor at the University of Virginia, agreed and said that the bill offers services to assist with family reunification and includes no provision for the state to take a child away from their parents.

Existing law requires a licensed homeless shelter or host home organization to report a youth’s presence to their parents within 72 hours of the youth's arrival unless there is a compelling reason, such as circumstances where the minor could be subjected to abuse and neglect. In those cases, the shelter must notify the state Department of Youth, Families and Children.

"That remains the same under this bill," Hut said. "What changes is that a compelling reason is expanded to include when a child is seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive care so they can access safe shelter."

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at the state Capitol in Bismarck, North Dakota. Burgum has signed a veto-proof bill into law that restricts transgender health care and criminalizes providers who give gender-affirming care to people under 18.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at the state Capitol in Bismarck, North Dakota. Burgum has signed a veto-proof bill into law that restricts transgender health care and criminalizes providers who give gender-affirming care to people under 18.

In addition, if a young person in a licensed shelter or host home is seeking protected healthcare services, the department must be contacted, Hut said.

When the department receives a report of a child staying at a shelter, it must make a "good faith attempt" to notify parents and “offer services designed to resolve the conflict and accomplish a reunification of the family,” according to the bill.

Deirdre Bowen, a law professor at Seattle University, said that there's no mandate that any parent or child should accept these services and that “regardless of who does the notifying," parents are free to collect their child the moment they are aware of their child's whereabouts.

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The bill is vague about what specific types of gender-affirming treatments fall under protected health services. However, minors need parental consent for some gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers and testosterone, according to Seattle Children's Clinic.

In some rare circumstances, homeless minors can receive puberty blockers or hormone therapy without parental consent under a 2022 bill, according to Axios.

Children can only be removed from parents under specific conditions

The only way a child can be removed from a parent’s custody in Washington is through a specific set of statutorily defined circumstances where the child is found to be abused or neglected, according to Bowen.

"Those terms are statutorily defined and do not include any language that says abuse and neglect includes parents who refuse to allow their children to get protected health care services," Bowen said.

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Removing a child from parental custody requires a court hearing and a determination that the child’s health, safety and welfare will be “seriously endangered” and is at risk of imminent harm, Bowen said.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim and Trump for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories and the Associated Press also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Conservatives misstate Washington bill on youth shelters