Backed by a coalition of more than 60 conservative organizations, the project seeks to change policy, laws, and culture so children’s rights are prioritized over adult desires in marriage, adoption, and reproductive technology.
Well-known children’s rights advocate Katy Faust has established a nationwide initiative called “Greater Than” to reshape and focus the national discussion on family structure, adoption, surrogacy, and artificial reproductive technologies on the well-being of the child, biological lineage, and the preservation of the natural family.
The campaign, which is based around Faust’s nonprofit group Them Before Us, has already brought together more than 60 conservative policy institutes, advocacy groups, and grassroots organizations to help advance its mission.
The Greater Than campaign has a multi-pronged strategy. It aims to incorporate the child-first framework into state legislative toolkits, amicus briefs, and public policy proposals intended to challenge intent-based parentage laws, but it also plans to target the legal foundation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
“Redefining marriage was framed as a win for adults, but children absorbed the cost,” Faust said during the campaign’s official launch announcement. “Their natural rights to their mother and father, to protection, to identity, and to stability were treated as negotiable. Greater Than is a coalition formed to correct that injustice.”
Faust pointed out that the initiative’s name reflects the idea that a child’s natural right to a stable home with their biological mother and father matters more than any adult’s wish for parenthood, need for self-fulfillment, or personal lifestyle preferences.
“When we made husbands and wives optional in marriage, we made mothers and fathers optional in parenting law,” Faust stated. “For children, their mother and father are never optional. It always leaves a lifelong wound. It always destabilizes their existence. It hampers their identity formation. It hinders their development. And very often it places them in homes that are statistically risky, elevating risks of abuse and neglect.”
The organization’s yellow Greater Than logo was created in direct response to symbols commonly used by mainstream advocacy groups, signaling a shift that will grant child welfare a higher priority in constitutional and legislative debates.
The initiative targets several key cultural and legal issues, advocating for systemic changes in how society approaches adoption, third-party reproduction, and marriage laws.
A major part of the Greater Than campaign’s educational and legal strategies involves showcasing an ever-increasing collection of first-hand accounts from adults who were brought up in same-sex and other non-traditional family situations or who were conceived as a result of using donor technology.
The campaign’s repository of testimonies underscores the emotional challenges children face when adult desires override children’s needs.
One anonymous individual raised by two fathers expressed deep affection for his parents while highlighting an unresolved sense of loss: “I love my dads so much, they’ve always been good to me… But I also can’t help this feeling of resentment I’ve felt for so long… I just really wish I had a mom.”
Other accounts illustrate the severe psychological toll that family disruption and non-traditional parenting arrangements can inflict on young people. An advocate named Blake shared his experience as a child caught in the wake of adult choices, stating, “I am a victim of adults putting their desires before their responsibilities as parents… Everything quickly became too much to handle and, at the age of twelve, I attempted to take my own life.”
Angela’s testimony highlights the profound identity disruption that occurs when biological ties are severed. Recalling the moment when she realized that her family structure was being torn apart, Angela described the overwhelming isolation she felt: “I slammed the phone down, ran to my bed crying in disbelief, and decided my friends would have to be my family.”
The campaign states that although adults possess the maturity and sense of responsibility to be able to make sacrifices, society should not ask children to sacrifice their natural desire for a biological identity and traditional parents in order to meet adult lifestyle objectives.
A number of national policy groups, legal defense foundations, and family organizations from around the country, including the Family Research Council, the Colson Center, and the Standing for Freedom Center, have joined the coalition as partners in order to promote the campaign’s message. Well-known public figures and commentators such as Dr. Albert Mohler, Allie Beth Stuckey, Lila Rose, and Seth Dillon have also spoken out in support of Greater Than.
The need to defend children’s rights is urgent since Virginia and other states are about to vote on constitutional amendments that will destroy traditional marriage and family creation, as well as the right to life. These amendments, if passed, will give priority to adult desires and autonomy while leaving the lives and needs of children without protection or recognition.
The Greater Than coalition is advancing the biblical principles of stewardship, justice, and the structure of the family.
The Bible says that children are a heritage from the Lord and should be regarded as a valuable trust to be cherished rather than as a commodity or as a means of satisfying adult desires (Psalm 127:3). God’s plan for marriage and the family includes a mother and a father who are to look after and guide the following generation, in order that His nature and His divine order may be displayed.
If the policies and cultural attitudes place a greater emphasis on adult desires and satisfaction than on the fundamental rights of children, Christians have a responsibility to fill this gap by standing as advocates for the vulnerable.
James 1:27 states that true religion consists in looking after orphans and protecting those who cannot speak up for themselves. This is not simply a matter of adopting a political or legal approach to defend children’s rights in adoption, reproductive technology, and family law. It is a clear expression of Christian love and moral obligation.
Since believers support initiatives that preserve the natural family structure, they must boldly promote this view in public while also showing sacrificial love in their daily lives. Both churches and individuals can take an active role in supporting foster care and in providing support to troubled families, as well as serve as examples of Christ-centered marriages.
When society makes the well-being of the youngest and most vulnerable the focus of cultural and legal decisions, it is reflecting God’s good order and the attitude of Jesus, who welcomed children and told His followers to protect and treasure them.
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