(Texas Scorecard) – The State of Texas is suing the federal government over a new rule for special treatment and special placements of “LGBTQI+” children in the foster care system.
The rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires that a child be placed in a home that affirms their identity to prohibit “retaliation” against the child’s identity.
Xavier Becerra, the Secretary of the DHHS is also being sued in his official capacity. Becerra was appointed by Biden and previously served as California’s attorney general.
The lawsuit states that the rule imposes requirements without statutory basis, adding that Title IV does not address anti-discrimination protections for sex, “much less the derivative categories of gender identity and sexual orientation.”
“Under the new rule, Title IV-E and Title IV-B agencies would be forced to ensure that foster-care placement ‘affirms’ a child’s self-professed ‘LGBTQI+’ identity,” Attorney General Ken Paxton stated in a press release. “State agencies that do not comply risk losing federal funding. Further, the rule exacerbates the impact of a growing shortage of foster care providers by compelling States to find providers that support ‘gender identity’ ideology.”
The filing provides additional background on Texas’ foster care system’s rules for housing placement, including sex-specific obligations that may be compromised by the federal government’s rule.
One includes placing unrelated children of different sexes in separate rooms to avoid inappropriate contact, according to the Texas Administrative Code.
“The Biden Administration is attempting to hold the Texas foster care system hostage to force unscientific, fringe beliefs about gender upon the entire country,” said Paxton. “The new rule directly violates federal law and threatens to undermine our vital foster care programs, putting children who need safe, loving homes at risk.”
Yesterday, Paxton and a coalition of attorneys general led by Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador also united to investigate false claims about puberty blockers by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In the letter signed by the 20 attorneys general, Labrador says the AAP’s claims about puberty blockers being “reversible” are deceptive. The letter suggests that they provide substantive evidence of their claims or be subjected to fraud enforcement for misleading consumers.
“The AAP continues to authoritatively declare that puberty blockers are ‘reversible,’” Labrador wrote. “That claim is scientifically unsupported and contradicts what is medically known. And because that claim raises questions under most state consumer protection laws, it has the undersigned alarmed.”