Thanks to You, We Alerted President Trump

Dear Champion of Parental Rights,

ParentalRights.org recently sent a letter to President Trump on your behalf. The following explains how that unusual event came about and what it means.

When a Norwegian family court in September ruled to terminate Amy Jakobsen’s parental rights to Tyler, her son, friends, and legal advisors went looking for additional help. And they came to ParentalRights.org.

You may have seen the story in our email or on our social media posts. Amy, an American citizen, lost custody of her son for no other reason than that she was still breastfeeding him at 19 months. He had shown no interest yet in solid food, so Amy let him continue to nurse while she carefully monitored his weight. At a pediatric appointment which (perhaps significantly) immediately followed her return to Norway from a visit to the U.S. with her son, the boy weighed 9.6 kg, barely below the “ideal” weight of 10.0 kg.

That’s still in the acceptable range; the difference is less than a pound. But it was enough for Barnevernet, Norway’s child protection agency, to accuse Amy of neglect and take her son.

Now, five years later, a court has terminated Amy’s parental rights and she has lost her son forever.

No other accusations have been added and no charges were ever filed. And while it might have been understandable under the circumstances, Amy never lost her cool in the courtroom or make irrational threats of violence against government officials. She was just a good mom trying to take care of her son.

Tyler, an American citizen himself, has been held by the government of Norway for the past five years.

When Amy’s lawyers and friends started looking for international assistance, for pressure from her homeland, they turned to ParentalRights.org. And thanks to partners like you, we were able to step up and add our collective voice to Amy’s plea for justice.

International matters are not a normal part of our focus. We work to protect children by empowering American parents, usually right here in America, through the Parental Rights Amendment, and through state and federal statutes.

But this “international matter” posed a unique situation. Amy and Tyler are American citizens whose right to be a family has been stolen. And there is no other nationwide organization solely focused on standing up for the parental rights of American citizens.

Amy and her friends knew this. That’s why they urged us to share Amy’s story here in America, which we were happy to do.

Other organizations knew this, too, and a few days later they asked us to pen a letter to the White House on Amy’s behalf.

You see, your partnership with us through the years is having an effect we don’t often look for or highlight: you have empowered us to build a name for ourselves. And when I say “for ourselves,” I don’t mean for this organization alone.

I mean for the entire parental rights movement this organization’s name has come to represent.

I mean the collective voice for parental rights that you and I raise together all the time.

Thanks to you, we have seen statutes passed in nearly a dozen states to solidify the role of parents in the lives of their children.

Thanks to you, we have educated countless lawmakers who believed in parental rights but didn’t realize how much these rights are threatened today.

Thanks to you, we were invited to form a new bipartisan coalition to take on the injustices funded by federal tax dollars through laws like the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Adoption and Safe Families Act that give incentives for state governments to abuse or ignore the legal rights of parents, something we are working to change.

Thanks to you, we have become an effective, respected organization so that when a family in Norway needed a voice for parental rights back home in the States, they knew to reach out to ParentalRights.org.

And when other organizations aware of this international case saw that someone needed to alert the President to what’s going on, they believed the name of ParentalRights.org—rather than their own name!—should be on that letter.

Frankly, a letter to the President in a case like this is a “Hail Mary,” a last, desperate effort. It is possible the President could instruct the State Department to file a complaint with their contacts in Norway. They could recognize this matter for what it is—an American citizen taken by a foreign power without legal cause.

Our letter could also end up as just one more cry for help among many the Administration receives.

But thanks to you, ParentalRights.org was honored to be the organization throwing that “Hail Mary” pass.

Our list of friends and allies—which continues to grow in all corners of the political spectrum—is recognizing us as a “go-to” name in defending America’s parental rights.

And that is all because of you.

Your past partnership has fueled all the seemingly small efforts that have helped us to build a big reputation.

And if the President steps in and helps Tyler come home, that will be because of you as well.

Your faithful partnership helps American families, both in the present and into the future.

While we have made great progress, gaining a solid reputation and becoming internationally recognized as the best voice for parents’ rights, many families still suffer because their rights are not protected by the U.S. Constitution. As an organization, we have much work to do; we must keep this important mission moving forward.

But we can’t do any of this without your support.

Would you consider giving your best gift of $25, $50, $75, or even $150 today?

It is only through the generous support of partners like you that we have built up the name and reputation we now have, a name that lets us speak up for America’s families in trouble.

Can you take a moment today to invest once more and keep our name and effort going strong?

Gratefully,

James R. Mason
President

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BREAKING: In a recent development, four European nations sent letters to Norway shortly after our own letter went to the White House. Belgium, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic issued formal complaints, just as we have requested of our own Administration, against the injustices Barnevernet has inflicted on innocent families.

P.S. – Thank you for all you have done. Your interest, support, and encouragement over the years has enabled us to make a name for ourselves that can make a difference for families like Amy’s. A letter to the President is no small thing, and it is your partnership that made it possible. I eagerly look forward to partnering with you again and seeing what new successes the coming years will bring!

P.P.S. — Watch for a special email on Wednesday about our #GivingTuesday campaign coming to social media on November 27!