Pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy said during the second Republican Party primary debate on Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, that transgenderism in minors was a mental health issue and that it was cruel to push that ideology onto children.

Ramaswamy was asked by co-host Dana Perino about whether he would sign a bill into law that protected parental rights so that schools cannot hide information from parents about their child’s identity.

“I have to be very clear about this, transgenderism, especially in kids, is a mental health disorder,” he said. “We have to acknowledge the truth of that for what it is.”