Baby Choices

Babies must choose in New Jersey:

First, it asks for your newborn's name and date of birth, but then things take a turn. The third question, which is multiple choice, asks "What sex your baby was assigned at birth," with the options for "male," "female," or "prefer not to answer." If I ever have a baby, and the doctor isn't sure "what gender to assign it at birth," I'm pretty sure I'm going to request a new doctor. If I ever have a baby, and the doctor "assigns its gender" and I protest despite the biological visual proof, someone, please put me in the nuthouse. The fourth questions gets even worse. "Does your baby identify as...?" Your options are: Female Male Transgender female/trans female/male to female GenderQueer, neither exclusively male or female Additional gender category/self-described; please specify That's a big decision for a tiny, hours-old baby to make. I'm guessing any parents who checks anything but "female" or "male," or who even fills out this stupid survey, is already planning to indoctrinate the child. The poor thing doesn't stand a chance at a normal life. But it gets worse. Question number five wants to know about the child's sexual preferences. "Which of the following best describes your baby," it asks. The options are: Lesbian or gay Straight or heterosexual Bisexual Self-describe; please specify Questioning/unsure Prefer not to answer .... According to the New York Post, this specific questionnaire is handed out to new parents at Inspira Health facilities, which includes four hospitals, two cancer centers, and eight health centers in South Jersey. But the company didn't just come up with this crazy idea on its own. It's actually following a state law. Save Jersey says that it's the result of Bill A4385, "legislation signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in June 2022 after a mostly party-line vote." The law states, in part, that:

Each general acute care hospital that collects data concerning patient race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity for any reason shall implement an evidence-based cultural competency training program for all staff members employed by or working under the supervision of the general acute hospital who have direct contact with patients and are responsible for collecting race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity information from patients.

In 2023, Amy Mansue, the CEO of Inspira Health defended the questionnaire, stating, "We are required to report this data to the New Jersey Department of Health, which shares it with the federal government. The goal is to carefully review how healthcare is delivered and to identify disparities and unconscious biases. So far, this survey has been very well received by patients, who have expressed gratitude and appreciation."

No word from the babies themselves...