Conservative parents group rallies for ballot question on child gender therapy consent

CHICAGO - A conservative parents group held a rally on Monday to promote their petition aiming to include a question on this fall's general election ballot.

The question, proposed by the Parents Matter Coalition, asks whether parental consent should be mandatory before a child receives gender therapy or care.

The group specifically opposes a bill in the Illinois General Assembly, HB4876, which broadens the definition of child abuse to encompass denying a child abortion services or gender-affirming care.

"Our children are going through so much. There should not be a law that takes away our right to tell our children how their lives should go, how their hormonal stages should go. Let their stages go, let them learn," one speaker said.

The group asserts that the non-binding referendum would gauge public opinion. They face an April deadline to collect a minimum of 500,000 signatures.