Texas sues Biden administration over contraception rule, citing parental rights

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, alleges the Health Department abridged Texas state laws requiring health workers to inform parents about their children’s contraceptive prescriptions. Congress passed Title X of the Public Health Service Act in 1970. In 2021, the Biden administration issued a rule prohibiting healthcare workers receiving federal funds under the act from requiring that parents be informed about the contraceptives their children were receiving.

Why is this a problem? Texas law requires healthcare workers  to always inform parents about any medical care their children receive. The Biden administration’s 2021 rule demonstrated a disregard for both the Constitution and federal law, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.

What is Texas hoping to achieve with this lawsuit? The filing asked the court to issue a declaratory judgment finding the Biden administration’s 2021 rule improper. Such a ruling would serve as a basis for an injunction preventing the administration from enforcing the rule, the filing argued. That kind of injunction would also allow Texas to require healthcare workers receiving funds under Title X to inform children’s parents before prescribing them contraceptives.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report in Liberties about state officials challenging other Health Department rules requiring states and doctors to perform and pay for transgender procedures.