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Dear John,
Vanessa Sivadge -- a former Family Research Council intern -- was willing to lose everything to stand for what is right.
Put in a position where she had to choose to either stay silent or risk her job by standing up for America's children and exposing fraud and abuse, she chose to speak up and paid a hefty price.
Vanessa lost her job, and she was slandered by the Left and their media allies. But just last week, she was completely vindicated and landed a historic victory in court that resulted in a $10 million settlement. The settlement also included the creation of America's first detransition clinic. What an amazing turnaround -- all because Vanessa was willing to stand for the truth.
We praise God for bringing forth justice!
If you don't know the backstory, after Vanessa interned at FRC here in D.C. in 2021, she went back home to Texas to continue her work as a pediatric nurse.
But then she started seeing children confused about their sexual identity at her clinic on a weekly basis, and how parents were being manipulated and deceived into thinking a hormonal change would solve their child's confusion.
Soon an anonymous whistleblower came forward to expose how the hospital had engaged in a pattern of deception to conceal the fact that they were operating a robust gender transition program. Vanessa decided to anonymously come forward as well to corroborate the testimony -- thereby becoming a whistleblower herself.
Not long after, the FBI showed up at her house.
The DOJ sent two federal agents to her home and informed her that they were there because her views against transgender medicine made her a "person of interest" in their investigation into these whistleblowers. They told her that if she didn't cooperate with them, her job and safety were at risk.
But rather than obeying man, she obeyed God. Then she got fired.
When Vanessa was terminated, Family Research Council stood with her, delivering a petition with tens of thousands of signatures to Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) demanding justice and her job back.
FRC is dedicated to equipping the next generation with wisdom and courage through our internship program. We take the call to train up young people with a biblical worldview seriously -- and your partnership fuels exactly this kind of impact. Will you help us prepare the next Vanessa?
PARTNER WITH FRC
In the years that followed Vanessa's termination, litigation ensued.
In the case of Sivadge v. Texas Children's Hospital, Vanessa argued that TCH and several of their physicians knowingly submitted false statements to Medicaid by prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and other gender-transition procedures to healthcare programs using fraudulent diagnosis codes. In essence, they illegally used taxpayer dollars to fund gender transition procedures.
I and the rest of the FRC team are proud of Vanessa for boldly living out her convictions no matter the cost, and we are so thankful to God that He was her shield and defender.
When FRC saw the transgender ideology first barreling down the track, we were one of the only groups willing to stand up and speak against it. We helped develop model legislation for the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act in 2019, the aim of which was to protect children from the exact procedures and experimentation that was being done in TCH's clinic.
27 states now have similar laws on the books, and we are working hard to move similar legislation forward at the federal level.
Just as we didn't know what the fruit of the SAFE Act would be back in 2019, Vanessa didn't know her faithful stand for righteousness would lead to the first detransition clinic in the country!
Family Research Council will continue to uphold the truth here in our nation's capital and advocate for legislation that protects children when it is popular and when it is not. Your generosity allows us to educate lawmakers and reach more people through our broadcasts, Washington Stand news outlet, educational materials from the Center for Biblical Worldview, and so much more.
We will never waver from our priorities of faith, family, and freedom, in that order. Will you continue to stand with us today with your best gift?
GIVE TODAY
Stories like Vanessa's, where young believers are willing to face the forces of darkness and stand for what is true, encourage our hearts. These brave young Americans leave a lasting impact for the next generation, and it reminds us why we do what we do.
FRC is committed to standing on God's Word and putting our hand to the plow day after day, knowing that together, He can multiply our efforts in ways that we cannot imagine.
Jesus told us that we are the light of the world...that "a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house" (Matthew 5:14-15).
John, I encourage you to press on, letting your light shine before others in your local community and wherever the Lord calls you -- like Vanessa, you never know how the Lord may use it.
Thank you for your partnership in this critical work. You are making a long-lasting impact in communities nationwide.
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2026 Family Research Council.