Obergefell v. Hodges Has Systematically Undermined Children's Rights Through Legal Changes
Source: Katy Faust. "In Hit Piece, Seattle Times Proves I’m Right About Obergefell." May 14, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that legalizing same-sex marriage has hurt children by making it easier to separate kids from their biological parents. She points to Washington state laws that allow people to pay for children through surrogacy as proof that marriage equality has led to treating children like commodities.
Conclusion
The legalization of same-sex marriage through Obergefell v. Hodges has led to a systematic deconstruction of children's rights by making mothers and fathers optional in parenthood
Premises
- Making husbands and wives optional in marriage made mothers and fathers optional in parenthood
- Washington's 2018 Uniform Parentage Act, sponsored by a gay married legislator, removed 'mother' and 'father' from parenthood statutes and legalized commercial surrogacy
- The Uniform Parentage Act created pathways for unrelated adults to acquire children without background checks and explicitly permitted payments for parental rights
- The sponsor of Washington's parentage law admitted these changes flowed directly from the legalization of gay marriage
- In any other context, the exchange of money for parental rights is regarded as trafficking
- Children have a fundamental right to their mother and father and should not be bought and sold
Assumptions
- Children inherently have a right to be raised by their biological mother and father
- Legal changes that facilitate alternative family structures necessarily harm children's rights
- Commercial surrogacy is equivalent to child trafficking when money exchanges hands
- The biological family structure is superior to other family arrangements for children's wellbeing
- Legal recognition of same-sex marriage necessarily leads to commodification of children