Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children’s Rights Movement

Katy Faust · Stacy Manning

Feb 2021 · Post Hill Press

About this ebook

Them Before Us has flipped the script on adult-centric attitudes toward marriage, parenthood, and reproductive technologies by framing these issues around a child’s right to be raised by both their mother and father. Set against a backdrop of sound research, the compelling stories throughout each chapter confirm that a child’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being depends on being loved by the two people responsible for their existence. It’s a paradigm shift that will impact the personal and the political, and reframe every marriage and family conversation across the globe.

Them Before Us dispels many prevalent, harmful myths concerning children’s rights, such as:

• Kids need only love and safety—moms and dads are optional.

• Love makes a family—biology is irrelevant.

• Marriage is about adults—it has nothing to do with kids.

• Children are resilient and will “get over” divorce.

• Studies show “no difference” in outcomes for kids with same-sex parents.

• Sperm and egg donor kids are fortunate because they are so wanted.

• Surrogacy is a great way to help wannabe parents have a baby.

• Reproductive technologies are just like adoption.

Are you tired of a culture that views adults as victims in family matters, when it’s clear that kids are the ones who truly pay the price? If so, we are your people, and this is your movement.

About the author

Katy Faust is Founder and Director of Them Before Us. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Asian Studies at St. Olaf College and then received a Fulbright scholarship to Taiwan. Her fluency in Mandarin assisted her when she worked with the largest Chinese adoption agency in the world. 

In 2012 Katy began writing about why marriage is a matter of social justice for kids. Her articles/interviews have appeared in USA Today, Public Discourse, LifeSiteNews.com, The Daily Signal, The Eric Metaxas Show, BreakPoint, and ABC Australia. She is a regular contributor at The Federalist. She has filed several amicus briefs supporting children’s rights, and advocated on behalf of children with lawmakers in the US and abroad—as well as at the United Nations.  

She is the Washington State leader for the grassroots marriage movement CanaVox, and currently appears in their video series “Dear Katy.” She is married to a pastor and the mother of four children, the youngest of whom is adopted from China.

Stacy Manning, Senior Editor for Them Before Us and amateur Life Advice Professional, hails from the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband of more than two decades are raising their three children. When she is not advocating on behalf of children’s rights, she is gardening and cooking, and always ready to help tackle the interpersonal challenges of friends and strangers.