Episode 74: What's behind Youngkin's "parents' rights" rhetoric?

From the school board meetings in Loudoun County to pushes to ban "racially divisive" books in schools, conservatives have been relying on one concept in particular: “parents' rights.” Glenn Youngkin latched onto parents’ rights during his campaign and rode it to victory over Terry McAuliffe. Other Republican candidates across the country have taken note. During the midterms, many GOP candidates have declared themselves strong supporters of moms and dads.

But this catch-all phrase "parents rights" is being used much more broadly than its legal precedent. Republicans typically cite a 2013 law that stemmed from a court ruling regarding sperm donors and custody issues. So how did we get from a case about in vitro fertilization to parents rights being the basis for all sorts of stuff? And what does Youngkin's rhetoric portend for the political future?  

To help us figure this out, we speak with Bekah Saxon, a UniServ director at the Virginia Education Association, and Graham Moomaw, a state-house reporter for Virginia Mercury.

Find Graham Moomaw’s article on the history of parents’ rights here.