Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s rule making contraception for teens available without parental consent.
The suit challenges a federal rule set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Xavier Becerra. Paxton notes that the rule conflicts with Texas state laws concerning parental consent requirements for minors seeking contraceptives, per a press release.
For decades, the Title X program, established under the federal Public Health Service Act, has spent taxpayer money to expand access to “family planning” services across the country. While the program has historically mandated that funded entities adhere to state laws, recent developments appear to run afoul of precedent.
Under the Biden administration’s rule, entities getting taxpayer money under Title X are now prohibited from requiring parental consent before providing contraceptives to minors.
This directive departs from precedents established by federal district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which have previously reaffirmed that Texas’ laws regarding parental consent take precedence in such cases.
In his lawsuit, Paxton argues that the new federal rule undermines Texas’ authority to regulate medical care for minors within its jurisdiction.
Paxton contends that the rule is not only unlawful but also in direct violation of Texas’ legal framework, which requires that minors seeking contraceptives must obtain parental consent.
In 2020, an Amarillo father challenged the rule, asserting that it infringed upon his parental rights protected by the Texas Constitution to not require parental sign-off for minors’ medical care.
The father, Alexander Deanda, with legal representation from Jonathan Mitchell, formerly Texas’ solicitor general, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Amarillo, as previously reported by The Texas Tribune.
The judge supported Deanda’s position, ruling that Title X providers in Texas must seek parental consent before prescribing birth control. This decision was affirmed by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March.
Paxton’s recent legal action seeks to have the court overturn the federal rule and issue a permanent injunction to prevent its enforcement. According to Paxton, the rule represents an overreach by the federal government that blatantly disregards state law.
“By attempting to force Texas healthcare providers to offer contraceptives to children without parental consent, the Biden Administration continues to prove they will do anything to implement their extremist agenda, even undermine the Constitution and violate the law,” Paxton stated in the press release.
“Federal courts have already shut down their previous attack on parental rights, and I will ensure that we stop them once again,” he added.