The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions this past term have sent shockwaves through the legal and cultural landscape of our nation. But what do they mean for us here in Alaska? 

Here are summaries of four of the cases that matter most for faith and family, with a link at the end to a full, in-depth legal analysis from our friends at Massachusetts Family Institute.

Mahmoud v. Taylor

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, SCOTUS ruled that religious parents have the constitutional right to opt their children out of classroom materials that promote views on gender and sexuality that substantially interfere with their ability to raise their children in their faith. 

Mahmoud will have broad and far-reaching implications for Alaska parents, who can now wield this decision to ensure that public schools respect their rights to opt out of content that substantially interferes with their ability to raise their children in their faith.

In Alaska, there is a lot of work to do. We must determine how public schools are incorporating the LGBTQIA agenda into their curriculum including the actual books they are using, and how they are incorporating opt out procedures in respect to the Mahmoud v. Taylor as well as Alaska state law.

Existing Alaska state law, AS 14.03.016, mandates school districts provide parental notification on sex related curriculum, with subsection (3) specifically stating “providing for parent notification not less than two weeks before any activity, class, or program that includes content involving human reproduction or sexual matters is provided to a child.”

CLICK HERE for a memo from Attorney General Treg Taylor clarifying the requirement for a two week notice to parents.

Alaska Family Council will be initiating a campaign in the coming months to ensure that schools are giving parents opt out opportunities at least two weeks in advance and that parents know very clearly that they can take advantage of this right.

Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton

The Supreme Court decided on behalf of child protection in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, upholding Texas’s age-verification law for online pornography. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court found that commercial websites containing a certain percentage of content obscene to minors could be required to verify the age of visitors, despite the incidental burdens to adult site visitors.

Paxton clears the way for the Alaska legislature to do the right thing and pass a similar age-verification law for online pornography sites.

CLICK HERE for an AFC article on this issue including legislative efforts.

These historic rulings have paved the way for taking back ground right here in Alaska. But we need help to keep pressing.

United States v. Skrmetti

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory for children and families in United States v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s law banning dangerous gender transition procedures for minors. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court rightly affirmed that states have a legitimate interest in protecting children from irreversible medical harm.

Here in Alaska, State Rep. Jamie Allard is a strong AFC-allied legislator and alum of the national Statesmen’s Academy where we help send public office holders to for training. She introduced HB 338 in 2024, which would allow Alaskans who undergo “gender- affirming” care before the age of 18 to sue the doctor who provided care for monetary damages for an injury or condition suffered as a result of the procedure.

Because of the make-up of our current Alaska State Legislature, that bill did not receive a hearing and it is unlikely that we will see anything move on this during the second half of the existing session that ends in April of 2026.

However, Alaska Family Council has worked with the Alaska State Medical Board on this matter and in March of this year, they unanimously adopted a statement urging the Alaska Legislature to stop chemical and surgical mutilation of minors. Again, because of the liberal control of the Legislature caused by Republicans like Chuck Kopp, Louise Stutes, Kelly Merrick, Gary Stevens, Cathy Giessel, Jesse Bjorkman and Bert Stedman giving power to the Democrats, nothing was done.

The State Medical Board has indicated they are now ready to implement regulations that will hold medical professionals responsible for harming minors in this way. 

CLICK HERE for an interview on our weekly podcast/broadcast we do called, “I’m Glad You Said That,” with Chloe Cole about the Skrmetti case.

Medina v. Planned Parenthood

SCOTUS issued yet another 6-3 decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, affirming the right of states, such as South Carolina, to redirect taxpayer funding away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

This ruling marks a significant victory for the pro-life movement, which has long sought to protect the conscience rights of taxpayers and prevent public funds from supporting the murder of unborn children.

As Suzanne Downing in MustRead Alaska pointed out, it is unclear, “under Alaska’s legal framework, as interpreted by the liberal Alaska Supreme Court, whether this issue will be challenged, reinterpreted, or targeted in future litigation by carefully crafted legislation.“

A 2019 Alaska Supreme Court decision required the state to fund “medically necessary” abortions for low-income women through Medicaid using state funds. Efforts to define what “medically necessary” actually means by Alaska Family Council and our allies showed that the Court believes that every abortion is “medically necessary.” Until we change how we appoint judges in Alaska, this issue will continue to be a challenge as we seek to protect innocent, unborn Alaskans.

For more details on each of these case, CLICK HERE for a report from our friends at Massachusetts Family Institute.

These historic rulings have paved the way for taking back ground right here in Alaska. But we need help to keep pressing. Please consider joining us as a financial partner to fuel our action steps ahead that will protect Alaskans and advance transcendent Truth.

The views expressed here are those of the author.

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