NJ hospitals ask parents if their newborns are transgender

Four hospitals and eight healthcare centers in New Jersey ask parents whether they identify their newborns as transgender, The Telegraph reports.

The form given to new parents asks various questions, including “Do you identify your baby as a transgender male/ trans man/ female to male?” The question includes options such as “genderqueer” or an “additional gender category.” The form also asks parents if their child identifies as gay, lesbian, heterosexual or “questioning/unsure.”

Inspira Health, which owns the health facilities, claims the questionnaire was made in compliance with state law. New Jersey requires healthcare providers to “collect race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a culturally competent and sensitive manner.”

State Sen. Holly Schepisi, R-River Vale, said she wants to file legislation to prevent healthcare providers from collecting such data for patients under 16.

“The entire thing lacks such common sense and serves no purpose whatsoever,” she told the New York Post. 

“As a mom myself, I know you’re exhausted after giving birth. You’ve got a crying newborn and you’re trying to figure out how to feed it. To be handed that sort of form in the midst of all that that has no medical value, it makes no sense,” she added. 

U.S. Rep. Herbert Conaway, D-New Jersey, who worked on the reporting requirement legislation as a state representative, said hospitals shouldn’t be asking parents about their baby’s sexual orientation. 

“The bill was modeled after an Indiana statute and is designed to provide public health officials with the data they need to develop public health measures that effectively serve all New Jerseyans,” Conaway told The Telegraph. 

“Under the law, hospitals are required to collect and report demographic data on the patients they serve; however, no patient or parent is obligated to answer any question that makes them uncomfortable,” he added. “Newborns are not subjected to this data collection because parents are not required to fill out the form. Many health decisions for newborns are left to the parents’ discretion.” 

An Inspira Health spokesman told the newspaper that New Jersey law requires the questionnaire, but parents “are permitted to decline to provide this information.” The spokesman claimed that Inspira has requested a waiver from the state to stop the practice. 

Similarly, Massachusetts lets parents identify their newborn baby as nonbinary on birth certificates.