11-27-2018
CBN News Emily Jones
A Texas father is in the middle of a high stakes legal battle that could end in him losing his son.
Jeffrey Younger has been charged with child abuse for not affirming his ex-wife's decision to raise their son James as a girl.
According to court documents, James' gender identity depends on which parent he is staying with. He dresses as a little girl only when he is with his mother, who calls him "Luna." However, Jeffrey told The Federalist his son insists on wearing boy's clothes and "violently refuses to wear girl's clothes at my home."
The mother accuses Jeffrey of "emotionally abusive behavior" towards James by refusing to affirm his identity as a girl. Court documents list at least one example of "abuse," which includes cutting James' hair and "other non-affirming actions."
"Although unclear if this behavior rises to the level of family violence at this time, the Father's aggression is becoming more common and more intense," the documents say.
The Federalist reports the mother wants to strip Jeffrey of his parental rights.
"She is also seeking to require him to pay for the child's visits to a transgender-affirming therapist and transgender medical alterations, which may include hormonal sterilization starting at age eight," the report continues.
James' mother has taken him to see a transition therapist who diagnosed him with gender dysphoria. However, the therapist notes that James prefers to be called "Luna" when he is with his mother, but prefers to be called "James" when he is with his father.
Eyewitness accounts support Jeffrey's observations of James preferring to be a boy.
"Based on the three occasions I've spent time with him, I'd say he acts and looks unmistakably like a healthy six-year-old boy… I am praying for James, an average six-year-old boy, a sweet-natured, intelligent, lovable and at this point particularly vulnerable young man, caught up in a titanic clash of worldviews," Bill Lovell, the senior pastor of Christ Church Carrollton said.
James' case is not the first and it won't be the last. The American Academy of Pediatrics published finding that more children are beginning to use "non-traditional gender terms" to self-identify. Some parents are even allowing their children to choose their own gender.
Dr. Michelle Cretella, executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, telling children they were possibly born in the wrong body "disrupts the very foundation of a child's reality testing."
"If a child can't trust the reality of their physical bodies, who or what can they trust?" she asks in a Daily Signal video.
In the meantime, friends of the Younger family have started an online campaign called "Save James." They ask people to raise awareness and pray for James. They have even created an intercessory guide to lead people in how to pray.
Sarah Scott, who is one of the people behind "Save James" told CBN News, "Pray for wisdom for all those involved. Pray that their mother will have a change of heart."
She added that, "Gender isn't about likes and dislikes. It's how God made you."
Read the full report here. Watch interview: Father in Texas
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