Legislation was proposed to stop New Jersey hospitals from asking parents to provide the gender identity of their newborn.
Inspira Health has been providing a questionnaire to parents of newborns, asking if the newborn is identified as "GenderQueer," among several gender identity descriptions.
New Jersey State Sen. Holly Schepisi, a Republican, proposed legislation to stop it.
"Mandating that parents identify the sexual orientation and gender identity of their newborn child is an absurd waste of medical professionals' time and resources," Schepisi said.
NJ.com reported that hospitals are required by to ask the question by a state law enacted in 2021.
"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. Patients are permitted to decline to provide this information," an Inspira spokesman told NJ.com.
Said Schepisi: "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."