Maine Supreme Court Rules on Parental Rights Regarding Religious Upbringing

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has issued a unanimous ruling in a custody dispute, affirming a lower court's decision to grant a father the authority to prevent his daughter from attending a specific church with her mother. The case, Emily A. Bickford v. Matthew A. Bradeen, centered on disagreements between parents regarding the child's religious upbringing and medical decisions, including COVID-19 vaccinations.

Chief Justice Valeria Stanfill wrote that while parents possess a fundamental constitutional right to direct their children's upbringing, this right is shared. When parents disagree, the court must allocate rights based on the child's best interests. The ruling addressed concerns regarding the lower court's use of the term "cult" to describe the mother's church, Calvary Chapel Greater Portland. The Supreme Judicial Court clarified that the lower court used the term only to summarize expert testimony from sociologist Janja Lalich, who characterized the congregation as a "closed social system."

Liberty Counsel, representing the mother, stated plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the ruling infringes upon a parent's First Amendment rights.