Mental Health Bill Is ‘State-Sanctioned Kidnapping,’ Parental Rights Advocates Say

A bill in California has outraged parental rights advocates, who argue that it would allow school mental health counselors to send children as young as 12 years old to residential mental health facilities without parental consent. Erin Friday, an attorney and western U.S. regional co-leader for Our Duty, a parental rights group that opposes transgender ideology, stated that the proposed legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 665, would violate parental rights under federal and state constitutional law.

The legislation, authored by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-L.A.), would remove current legal guardrails that state a minor must be deemed in “danger of serious physical or mental harm to themselves or to others” before they are allowed to consent to mental health treatment or counseling on an outpatient basis or at a residential facility without the permission of their parents.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 7-2 in favor of moving the proposal further along in the legislative process, with Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Corona) and Kate Sanchez (R-Murrieta) voting against the bill.

Opposition to the bill has been fierce, with parental rights advocates arguing that it could lead to state-sanctioned kidnapping. Pamela Garfield-Jaeger, a licensed clinical social worker, voiced concern that school counselors are being trained “to keep secrets from parents” and take on an “anti-therapeutic activist” role instead of working more closely with families. Rachel Velcoff Hults, an attorney and director of mental health at the National Center for Youth Law and co-sponsor of the bill, argued that AB 665 addresses “a deeply inequitable policy” that creates “added barriers for youth on MediCal to access mental health counseling.”

Fiona Liu, a high school student in Orange County, testified in support of the bill, stating that current requirements “such as having to present serious danger to ourselves or to others” are an obstacle for youth from low-income families who are on MediCal and in need of mental health care.

Critics of the bill warn it could be especially harmful to gender-confused youth, as residential shelters may encourage minors to seek “gender-affirming care” without parental involvement or oversight. While supporters claim the legislation is intended to remove barriers to mental health care access, opponents say it could violate parental rights and ultimately harm families.