WoLF Files Amicus Brief Opposing State-Enforced Gender Ideology in Foster Care
On June 6, the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) filed an amicus curiae brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Wuoti v. Winters, a challenge to Vermont’s policy requiring foster parents to affirm and enforce gender ideology as a condition of being able to care for children. While the plaintiffs - two married couples - raise the issue on religious freedom grounds, WoLF wanted to spotlight the broader harms of compelling ideological conformity in foster care, especially for girls, and gender non-conforming or same-sex-attracted youth.
The policy at issue, adopted by the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF), mandates that foster parents “affirm” a child’s stated gender identity and express belief in gender ideology. DCF also prohibits any exemption from these requirements, even for infants or emergency care placements.
WoLF’s brief focuses on the constitutional, scientific, and social harms of these mandates, especially for youth who are gender non-conforming (GNC) or same-sex attracted. We argue that Vermont’s rules are not neutral policies concerned only with the best interests of the children - they are ideological enforcement mechanisms, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
From Safeguarding to Indoctrination
As our brief makes clear, the state’s goal of providing “safe and inclusive” homes has morphed into a requirement that foster parents accept and promote an unscientific and quasi-religious worldview. These policies do not merely protect children from discrimination - they compel families to affirm beliefs about identity that have no basis in material reality.
In practice, this means foster parents must go along with sex-based stereotypes that are rebranded as “gender identity” - and dissent is not tolerated. There is no room in Vermont’s system for secular concerns about child development, psychological well-being, or safeguarding.
The Impact on Vulnerable Children
Children and youth in foster care - especially those who are GNC or same-sex attracted - are already at heightened risk for trauma, mental illness, and exploitation. But instead of giving these children space and support to explore who they are, Vermont mandates that foster parents immediately “affirm” a new identity, beginning with “social transition” and often leading to irreversible medical interventions.
There is no solid evidence that this path improves outcomes. In fact, recent studies suggest that “gender-affirming care” increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. A comprehensive 2025 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine showed that children who undergo surgeries are more likely to experience poor mental health outcomes than those who do not.
Despite these findings, Vermont has adopted a one-size-fits-all approach - all foster families must affirm, or they are out. The result is not only harmful to children, but also eliminates otherwise-qualified caregivers who offer loving, stable homes.
Women and Girls Left Behind
As with other recent decisions - like the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Olympus Spa v. Armstrong - this case demonstrates how women’s boundaries and rights are being dismantled in the name of “inclusion.” Girls in foster care have experienced instability, dislocation, and often trauma, experiences that make girls especially vulnerable to the false promises of gender ideology. Once again, the government is signaling that women’s and girls’ needs for safety, dignity, and reality-based care are expendable.
And, once again, the same ideology that claims to liberate women punishes those who resist being told to ignore their own eyes, instincts, and expertise.
Pride Without Boundaries?
DCF’s rules also require foster parents to support - or at least “facilitate” - a child’s participation in Pride events. But many Pride celebrations include overtly adult content, including public nudity, BDSM demonstrations, and sexually explicit displays. Suggesting that minors attend these events alone, with or without parental supervision, is not only inappropriate - it’s dangerous.
While not every Pride event has overtly inappropriate content (and some are in fact designed to be more family-friendly), such events can in fact be hostile toward those with beliefs against gender ideology, even for members of the “LGBTQ community.” Women and lesbians in particular who challenge gender ideology at Pride events are increasingly being ejected, censored, and harassed. As our brief documents, gender-critical lesbians have been banned from Dyke Marches, removed from Pride events by police, and slandered as hate groups - simply for affirming that same-sex attraction means what it says.
These are not safe or inclusive spaces for all LGB people - particularly not for girls who reject regressive gender norms or insist that being a lesbian means being female. Foster parents in Vermont should be able to exercise discretion as to the child’s attendance and participation at events like this, and it should not be presumed to be a statement on sexual orientation.
The State Cannot Mandate Belief
WoLF’s amicus brief explains that gender ideology is not a neutral set of facts - it is a belief system, complete with metaphysical claims about inner “essence” and identity. Its adherents treat dissent as heresy and insist on dogmatic conformity. It mirrors religion in structure, vocabulary, and zeal - but is being imposed by the state in violation of the First Amendment.
Foster parents should not have to pretend that boys can become girls in order to provide a safe home. Children should not be indoctrinated into ideas that confuse and medicalize normal variations in personality and behavior. And women should not be punished for refusing to lie about sex.
A Voice for Reality
While we share the plaintiffs’ concerns about compelled belief, WoLF’s position is secular and rooted in material reality. Our sisters in action include lesbian and bisexual women, radical feminists, detransitioners, and others harmed by the erasure of sex in law and policy. We believe that children deserve evidence-based care, not political experiments. And we believe that truth - not ideology - should guide our institutions.
You can read WoLF’s full brief here.
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For over 10 years, WoLF has been on the forefront of this fight, pushing back both against liberal indoctrination of gender identity and conservative narratives of gender roles. We unapologetically put women and girls first!
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