- The Washington Times - Monday, November 6, 2023

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A federal appeals court appears poised to side with a father seeking to upend a federal rule barring medical providers from notifying parents when their minor daughters seek reproductive health care.

A Texas father, Alexander Deanda, sued the Biden administration, arguing the Health and Human Service’s Title X of the Public Health Service Act runs afoul of his constitutional rights as a parent because it does not order consent from parents before minors are given reproductive health care treatment — including contraceptives.

The Title X program provides funds for family planning services and methods — including for individuals under 18 years old to obtain birth control. It’s been on the books since the 1970s and has been amended over the years to include treatment for adolescents.

Texas, meanwhile, has a family law that requires parental consent for medical treatment for children.

The legal battle, Deanda v. Xavier Becerra, pits parental rights against reproductive rights and could eventually make its way to the Supreme Court.

Two of the three judges hearing the dispute Monday appeared concerned about parental rights impacted by HHS’ rule, promulgated in 2021, that said Title X providers do not require parental consent for treatment.

“The whole point is you don’t know what your kid is going to do on something like this,” said Judge Catharina Haynes, a Bush appointee.

“The department comes in and says, ‘Well, a parent with minor daughters in Texas in a region where tens of millions of dollars are spent to make sure these services get to minors is not injured,’” said Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee. “That’s a very strange thing about this case that I stumble over, frankly.”

Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, a Bush appointee, is also weighing the matter. The three-judge panel did not issue a decision Monday but could do so in the coming weeks.

The father, Mr. Deanda, won in lower court when the judge said the program infringes on his due process rights to oversee the upbringing of three daughters he wants to raise in the Christian faith and has encouraged to abstain from sex before marriage.

The federal government appealed, arguing Mr. Deanda doesn’t have legal standing to bring the suit — saying he is not sufficiently injured.

The government says other courts have ruled in favor of the feds’ Title X program, including finding that parental consent was not mandatory but rather encouraged.

Courtney Dixon, an attorney for the Justice Department, said Mr. Deanda’s filings don’t even state how old his daughters are or if they ever visited a Title X health care facility to obtain family planning services.

She also said the medical providers should encourage family participation — but that is up to the patient to decide.

“The Title X grantee is to encourage the patient…to include the family in their decision making,” she said.

The attorney representing Mr. Deanda said he is injured because he has daughters of “childbearing age.”

“We don’t believe it matters,” the attorney said of detailing the exact ages. “He has lost a state law entitlement that he has.”

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.

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