Welcome to the TMS Weekly Dispatch for April 10, 2026—with the latest news and updates from the front line, to keep you in-the-know on all things Thomas More Society. We hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend and wish you a blessed Easter season.

If you missed the last edition, click here. Here's the latest from the past week:

FEDERAL COURT ORDERS CALIFORNIA TO PAY $4.5 MILLION IN ATTORNEYS' FEES IN LANDMARK PARENTAL RIGHTS WIN: A federal court has ordered the State of California to pay $4.52 million in attorneys' fees to Thomas More Society in Mirabelli v. Bonta, the landmark case challenging California's policy of concealing children's gender transitions from their parents. The U.S. Supreme Court previously reversed the Ninth Circuit in this case and reinstated a class-wide permanent injunction protecting parents. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez granted the full fee petition with a rare 1.25 lodestar multiplier, citing a pattern of "litigation intransigence" by the state, including repeated meritless motions, premature appeals, and arguments twice withdrawn after being shown to be without merit.

"A $4.5 million fee award sends an unmistakable message to state governments and school districts across the country: if you trample the constitutional rights of parents, you will pay for it—literally," said Peter Breen, TMS Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation. "California threw everything it had at this case. It lost at summary judgment, lost at the Supreme Court, and now Californians will foot the bill for their government officials' refusal to respect the fundamental rights of families."

Read the full press release here.

SEVENTH CIRCUIT HEARS CHALLENGE TO ILLINOIS' ABORTION REFERRAL MANDATE: Thomas More Society and Alliance Defending Freedom appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit today for oral argument in Schroeder, et al. v. Treto, Jr., challenging Illinois' abortion referral mandate. The law, passed a decade ago as Senate Bill 1564, requires pro-life physicians and pregnancy centers to refer clients to abortion providers upon request or lose their conscience protections. Thomas More Society filed suit in 2017, and after a federal judge struck down the mandate to discuss abortion's alleged "benefits" but upheld the referral requirement, TMS appealed. The referral mandate has remained paused pending appeal. Illinois has cross-appealed, seeking to reinstate the compelled speech provision.

"Illinois has spent nearly a decade trying to force pro-life doctors and pregnancy centers to do its bidding for the abortion industry. The Seventh Circuit now has the opportunity to make clear that the Constitution does not permit the state to conscript healthcare providers into a cause that violates their deepest convictions," said Patrick Gillen, TMS Senior Counsel.

Read the full press release here.

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN COLORADO'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL CENSORSHIP OF COUNSELORS: In a landmark 8-1 ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Colorado's ban on so-called "conversion therapy," as applied to a counselor who uses only talk therapy, is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. Justice Gorsuch, writing for the majority, found that Colorado's law allowed counselors to affirm a client's gender transition but prohibited voluntary conversations helping a young person grow comfortable with his or her own body. Thomas More Society and the Ethics and Public Policy Center together filed an amicus curiae brief that put before the Court critical arguments, including the collapsing international consensus behind “gender-affirming” interventions for minors, supporting the ruling.

The decision puts every jurisdiction with similar laws on notice, saying that states cannot weaponize licensing regimes to enforce ideological orthodoxy in the counseling room. Thomas More Society is proud to have supported this historic victory for free speech, families, and the rights of young people to receive real help.

Read the full article here.

You can also read our amicus curiae brief here.

SCHOOL-ENDORSED LGBTQ+ "DAY OF SILENCE" CHALLENGED UNDER NEW SUPREME COURT PARENTAL RIGHTS PRECEDENTS: Today, school districts across the country are promoting and facilitating the 30th annual GLSEN "Day of Silence," a student protest in which participants remain silent throughout the school day in support of LGBTQ+ causes. Many of those districts have said nothing to parents about the event or their right to opt their children out. Thomas More Society sent a warning letter to the Kirkwood School District in Missouri, applying the Supreme Court's March 2 decision in Mirabelli v. Bonta, brought and won by Thomas More Society, to demand that parents be notified and given opt-out rights. Thomas More Society has also prepared a model opt-out letter for any family nationwide wishing to exercise their rights.

"Hundreds of school districts across the country are promoting the 'Day of Silence' this Friday without telling parents a thing about it. After Mirabelli, the law is clear: parents have a right to know and a right to opt out. Any district that ignores that obligation should expect to hear from us," said Peter Breen, TMS Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation.

Read the full press release here.

19TH ANNUAL EASTER CELEBRATION ON CHICAGO'S DALEY PLAZA: On Easter Sunday, April 5, Chicago's Daley Plaza came alive at dawn for the 19th annual Easter Sunrise Service, a celebration of Christ's Resurrection in the heart of the city. Thomas More Society co-sponsored the display alongside Tapestry Fellowship Independence Park, Watch and Band Mission, and private citizens Karl and Nancy Fritz. A redesigned 15-foot cross was erected on Holy Thursday, April 2, and remained on the Plaza through April 7.

"This Easter celebration is a constitutionally protected expression of religious faith by private citizens in a public forum, and it has every legal right to be here," said Tom Brejcha, TMS Founder, President and Chief Counsel.

Read more here.