A conservative family advocacy organization has ignited a national firestorm after erecting billboards across the country declaring “No child has two dads. No child has two moms,” according to The Federalist.
The billboards, placed by Them Before Us, an organization focused on children’s rights in family structures, went up earlier this month and quickly drew organized opposition from LGBTQ activists. Within days of their appearance, critics began pressuring the billboard company to remove them, organizing counterprotests, and labeling Them Before Us a hate group.
The controversy has rapidly spread across social media platforms, with related posts drawing millions of views and tens of thousands of engagements on X (formerly Twitter). Video footage and photos of the billboards, including one in Lima, Ohio, have circulated widely as critics condemn what they characterize as targeted messaging against LGBTQ families.
The Organization’s Defense
Them Before Us has defended the billboards by framing their message around biological definitions of parenthood. The organization argues that every child is born through one biological mother and one biological father, regardless of who ultimately raises them.
According to The Federalist’s coverage, the group contends that redefining “mother” and “father” as roles anyone can claim detaches parental responsibilities from biological creation. They argue this opens the door for adults to “abdicate or sell their responsibility” through various assisted reproduction arrangements.
The organization distinguishes between traditional adoption — which they say responds to tragic circumstances where children have already lost biological parents — and deliberate arrangements using purchased eggs, sperm, or surrogacy, which they characterize as intentionally separating children from biological parents before birth.
Recent Surrogacy Cases Fuel Debate
The controversy comes amid high-profile surrogacy disputes that have raised questions about parental rights and children’s welfare. According to The Federalist, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier recently intervened in a case involving a single man in China who contracted with a Florida woman to carry triplets via surrogacy.
In that case, the man reportedly never came to Florida after the woman gave birth to his triplets, remaining silent even when one of the boys died from RSV complications. The surrogate cared for the surviving boys for 20 months before attempting to terminate the man’s parental rights and adopt them. At that point, he reportedly hired an attorney, and the boys were placed in foster care while legal proceedings continue over whether they will be sent to China.
The Federalist also cited a Canadian case involving a same-sex couple who allegedly demanded their surrogate abort a baby at 22 weeks upon learning he had a cleft lip. The surrogate reportedly refused, and specialists later confirmed the condition was correctable with routine surgery. The men are now reportedly suing the woman for approximately $600,000, claiming she caused them emotional distress.
Broader Context on Assisted Reproduction
The billboard campaign touches on ongoing debates about assisted reproductive technology, surrogacy arrangements, and how the law defines parenthood. These questions have become increasingly prominent as such arrangements have grown more common and accessible.
Critics of commercial surrogacy arrangements argue they commodify children and create legal vulnerabilities, particularly in international cases where enforcement of parental rights becomes complex. Supporters of assisted reproduction counter that these technologies enable people who cannot have biological children — including same-sex couples and individuals with fertility issues — to build families.
The clash over the billboards reflects deeper tensions between those who prioritize biological definitions of parenthood and those who emphasize the role of intention and caregiving in defining family relationships.
Response from LGBTQ Advocates
LGBTQ activists responding to the billboards have pointed to various family structures where children thrive without both biological parents present, including divorced families, families affected by parental death, and families with stepparents or adoptive parents. They argue the billboard messaging targets LGBTQ parents and dismisses the legitimacy of their families.
Social media posts criticizing the billboards have emphasized that many children are raised by loving parents who are not their biological mother and father, and that such arrangements can provide stable, nurturing environments.
Legal and Social Landscape
The controversy unfolds as questions about parental rights, surrogacy regulation, and family law remain subjects of active legal and legislative debate across the United States. Different states maintain varying approaches to surrogacy contracts, parental rights establishment, and recognition of non-biological parents.
Some states have comprehensive regulations governing assisted reproduction and surrogacy arrangements, while others have minimal oversight. Interstate and international surrogacy arrangements can create particularly complex legal situations when disputes arise.
Them Before Us frames its position as defending children’s rights to know and be raised by their biological parents when possible, arguing that this biological connection establishes fundamental responsibilities that should not be severed through commercial arrangements. The organization maintains that biological parenthood represents a fact rather than a social construct that can be redefined.
As the billboard campaign continues to generate debate online and in communities where they appear, it highlights ongoing societal disagreements about how to balance adult autonomy in family formation with considerations about children’s interests and rights.
Source: thefederalist.com — https://thefederalist.com/2026/07/30/the-left-cant-erase-moms-and-dads-no-matter-how-hard-they-try/