Published December 20, 2024
On December 20, 2024, EPPC scholar Natalie Dodson submitted a public comment on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Zero Suicide Program notice, which includes “health equity” and “LGBTQIA+” as the “central component” of the program.
While Ms. Dodson supports SAMHSA’s efforts “to reduce suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and deaths due to suicide,” she argued that affirming self-determined identities will worsen mental health-related suicidality.
As Ms. Dodson explained:
The Department’s proposal to extend its evaluation of the Zero Suicide Framework based on “LGBTQIA+” and “health equity” improperly integrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s DEI-driven ideology without evidence or proper reasoning. The Department’s proposal is contrary to science, and studies that show that affirming self-determined identities does not decrease suicidality but rather potentially increases it.
Considering the lack of research or evidence in support of this notice, Ms. Dodson asked SAMHSA “to reconsider its proposal to base its Zero Suicide Evaluation [and Framework] on “LGBTQIA+” and “health equity.”
Other organizations submitting comments on the proposed rule include:
Natalie Dodson is a Policy Analyst at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she works on a range of initiatives focusing on sexuality, gender ideology, religious liberty, healthcare rights of conscience, abortion, and nondiscrimination in EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project (ASAP).
