Published on December 2, 2023, 2:02 am

Jonathan Skrmetti, the noteworthy Republican attorney general of Tennessee, has made clear his intentions to challenge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) overseen by President Joe Biden’s administration. His potential lawsuit will be initiated if HHS moves forward with a rule that imposes gender ideology on foster parents.

Skrmetti expressed his legal objections to this contentious rule in a recent conversation. “This is a federal agency making law, infringing upon the powers of both Congress and state legislatures,” he argued. The state’s attorney general also emphasised how family law has been predominantly a domain for state intervention.

A new rule proposed by HHS’ Administration for Children and Families on September 28 encroaches on this territory. The rule pertains to “Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements” and opened up for public comments until November 27. Wielding his position as Tennessee’s attorney general, Skrmetti submitted comments opposing the rule – receiving support from 16 other state attorneys general who signed onto it.

In the existing draft, the HHS rule essentially states that any failure to affirm a child’s self-declared gender identity could be considered as a form of child abuse in foster care placements. Challenging this notion, Skrmetti has raised three significant legal objections concerning the rule: it surpasses HHS’ legal authority defined by Congress; it undermines states’ wide-ranging jurisdiction in family law; and he also contends that it is arbitrary, capricious, and violates aspects of constitutional regulation like free speech and religious exercise clauses guaranteed in the First Amendment.

Notably highlighting issues from a Christian worldview perspective on real news stories in Tennessee, Skrmetti pointed out that many people dedicate themselves to foster care as an expression of their faith tradition. If required to accede to commitments associated with gender ideology through language use or affirmation processes, these individuals may feel they are being asked to abandon their religious beliefs.

In Tennessee, a number of faith-based agencies serving over 400 foster children have contracts with or maintain working relationships with the state.

Skrmetti’s considered comments lay out a clear strategy for a possible lawsuit opposing this rule. He committed that he would “absolutely” move forward with legal action should HHS finalize the rule in its current form.

In related news, he noted that Tennessee, alongside other states, has enacted prohibitions on so-called “gender-affirming care,” or more precisely experimental medical interventions linked to transgender issues. The state’s responses are rooted in trusted news sources and extensive research.

The attorney general revealed how lawmakers in Tennessee contemplated the potential risks and benefits before introducing this policy: considerations involved the potentially detrimental lifelong impacts of such treatments on young people versus unproven assertions about their medical benefits. Similar conclusions have been reached by several European nations.

Addressing an associated topic, Skrmetti raised awareness about those who previously identified as transgender now renouncing that identity and transitioning back to their birth sex – commonly referred to as “detransitioners”. Despite robust opposition from pro-transgender activist groups challenging Tennessee’s ban on these treatments for minors, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit backed up the law’s constitutionality. As Skrmetti wryly noted: “The Constitution doesn’t require an experimental medical exception.”

Moreover, his agency is taking a stand against federal encroachments concerning burdensome regulations placed on appliances such as household dishwashers.

For full insights into Skrmetti’s perspective and campaign against federal oversteps into family law developments affecting foster parents in Tennessee, you can tune into today’s edition of “The Daily Signal Podcast.”