{
  "id": 5128069,
  "title": "Maine’s high court rules father can restrict daughter’s church attendance",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/maines-high-court-rules-father-can-restrict-daughters-church-5128069",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T16:23:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Associated Press",
    "slug": "associated-press",
    "url": "https://apnews.com/article/maine-parents-dispute-daughter-evangelical-church-f21e6c1a3dbc36a083f31aaaa447824c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a recent ruling, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court has affirmed a lower court's decision allowing a father, Matthew Bradeen, to dictate his daughter's attendance at an evangelical church after a disagreement with her mother, Emily Bickford. The case, which arose in 2024, involved their 11-year-old daughter's exposure to the church's teachings, which reportedly caused the girl to experience anxiety and a panic attack. Bradeen claimed that the church's teachings, particularly on the rapture, were psychologically damaging to his daughter. The lower court agreed, granting Bradeen the authority to determine his daughter's church attendance and interactions with church members, aside from her mother. The court emphasized that both parents must share parental rights and responsibilities in relation to their daughter's exposure to other religious organizations, with the father having the final say in such matters. Emily Bickford's attorney, Mathew Staver, plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, as his law firm, Liberty Counsel, has previously argued cases before the high court, such as a 2022 ruling in favor of a private religious group that Boston had banned from flying a Christian flag.",
  "summary": "A Portland District Court judge was correct in giving a father the power to decide whether his daughter could attend an evangelical church following a clash with the girl’s mother over her religious…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Maine’s high court rules father can restrict daughter’s church attendance",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/maines-high-court-rules-father-can-restrict-daughters-church",
        "published": "2026-09-02T16:00:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}