President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is warning all 50 states against removing children from their parents solely because parents do not support a child’s self-proclaimed “gender identity.”
The department’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF) sent a letter to states on Wednesday reminding them that child welfare agencies must base child removal decision on objective evidence of abuse or imminent risk or harm under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The letter tells states not to interpret federal definitions in a way that goes against parental rights and leads to the unnecessary removal and foster placement of children who are not being abused or neglected, ACF said in a press release.
ACF also told states that removing a child based on a parent’s sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions about the existence of biological reality could violate the First Amendment.
“Parents have the right to raise their children according to their sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions,” Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams said in a statement. “When states overstep their bounds, ACF will take action to deter inappropriate policies that drive unnecessary interactions with child welfare systems. This is one such example.”
ACF said its letter “follows troubling reports of states removing children when parents declined to support their child’s self-identification as another sex.”
“ACF will continue to monitor states’ compliance with federal child welfare requirements and take appropriate action to ensure federal funds are used consistent with the law,” the agency said.
Adams also put out a video announcement about the letter with Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brian Christine. They referenced President Trump’s State of the Union address last week in which Trump told the story of Sage Blair, a girl who was separated from her parents at the age of 14 after her school allegedly tried to secretly transition her to a male.
“Our president exposed the reality of what is taking place in some of our schools across the country, and in response, HHS is sending a clear and unequivocal message to all 50 states about cases like that of Sage Blair,” Christine said. “Acknowledging biological reality and exercising sincerely held religious beliefs should not constitute child abuse or neglect under federal law.”
ACF’s letter also supported its “A Home for Every Child” initiative aimed at improving the ratio of foster homes to children in foster care.
“Public health and child welfare policy must be rooted in sound science, faithful adherence to statute and respect for constitutional protections,” he continued. “When definitions of abuse and neglect are stretched beyond their legal limits, families are torn apart, parents suffer, children experience unnecessary trauma, and foster care systems are further strained.”
During his address Trump demanded an end to states transing minors without parental knowledge or consent.
“But surely we can all agree, no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents. Who would believe that we are even talking about this? We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately,” President Trump said.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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