Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Until now, parental rights have been given protection under the Constitution, but this protection could be in danger. Today on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Farris explores why.

Michael Farris:
Unlike any other major nation in the world, the American Constitution contains a provision that makes all ratified treaties part of the "highest law of the land." This is the Achilles heel of the Constitution. When a treaty is ratified by the United States Senate and signed by the president, it becomes enforceable and binding higher law.

Under existing Supreme Court precedent, a treaty cannot override an express provision of the Constitution. But a treaty can override a reserved constitutional right. And a treaty can certainly override either a state constitution or a state statute. Parental rights are reserved rights—they are not an express provision of the Constitution. This means that if the United States were to ratify a treaty that removed some parental rights, the Constitution could do nothing to protect us.

Worse, because parental rights are not clearly outlined in the Constitution, federal judges have been gradually eroding them through their application of customary international law. Judges use this doctrine to apply unratified treaties such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to American legal cases that reinterpret the Constitution through judicial fiat.

Recognizing these dangers, homeschoolers and other concerned parents must act now to secure the protection of our rights.

I'm Mike Farris.