Hospitals in New Jersey are reportedly handing out forms to new parents asking whether their newborn babies identify as transgender or gay, among other shockingly irrelevant questions. 

The forms, attributed to the hospital group Inspira Health, include queries like, “What sex was your baby assigned at birth? Which of the following best describes your baby? Lesbian or gay; straight or heterosexual, bisexual, questioning/unsure, prefer not to answer.”

The form also asks: “Do you identify your baby as a transgender male/trans man, female-to-male, genderqueer, or an additional gender category?” according to NJ.com.

The forms are being distributed across several hospitals in the state, allegedly to comply with a 2021 New Jersey law. Yet lawmakers are crying foul, saying the law never required such nonsense for babies.  

Republican State Senator Holly Schepisi didn’t mince words, calling the form a waste of time and a total lack of common sense. “Mandating that parents identify the sexual orientation and gender identity of their newborn child is an absurd waste of medical professionals’ time and resources,” she wrote on X.

“This form serves no practical medical purpose for the care of a newborn baby. My legislation would rescind this ridiculous mandate passed by Trenton Democrats,” she wrote. “Newborns need quality medical care when they enter this world, not a checklist of identity labels that have no relevance at birth. This is just another example of Democrats pushing a political agenda instead of letting kids be kids.” 

The senator said she plans to introduce legislation to limit such data collection to patients older than 16.  

Yet the confusion is bipartisan. Democrat legislator Herbert Conaway, who worked on the bill inspiring the data collection, was baffled. Mr. Conaway stated that the law was never intended to require sexual orientation or gender identity data about newborns. 

“Newborns aren’t subjected to this data collection because parents aren’t obligated to answer these questions,” Mr. Conaway said, adding that it was meant to help public health officials develop better measures.  

Inspira Health, the creators of the form, insists they’re doing exactly what the law demands.

“Inspira Health, along with every other acute care hospital in New Jersey, is required by New Jersey law and the State of New Jersey Department of Health to request their patients provide their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity,” spokesman Paul Simon told NJ.com. 

The company claims the questionnaire is its way of providing healthcare in a “culturally competent and sensitive manner” while complying with state legislation. Inspira also noted that the form permits parents to decline to answer the questions entirely and says it has requested a waiver on the data collection, adding one has yet to be granted.