On Wednesday night, in its final vote of the day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would criminalize doctors and parents who provide gender-affirming medical care to transgender minors. This marks the first time Congress has approved a nationwide ban on such treatments, further escalating a long-running Republican drive to regulate transgender lives through federal law. The bill now heads to the Senate, but it is unlikely to pass.
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of lawThe bill, introduced by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and entitled the “Protecting the Innocence of Children Act,” would impose a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison on doctors who provide puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgical care to patients under 18. The bill would also expose parents and others who consent to or assist minors in accessing their care to criminal liability.
The bill was passed with 216 members voting in favor and 211 voting against. All but three Democrats, Sens. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, and four Republicans, Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, joined in supporting the bill’s passage. President Donald Trump recently pardoned Cuéllar after he was indicted on more than a dozen charges, including bribery, money laundering and conspiracy. Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell (California), Lucy McBath (Georgia), and Joe Courtney (Connecticut) did not vote. Mr. Swalwell is running for governor of California.
Republican Sens. Gabe Evans of Colorado, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Kennedy of Utah, and Mike Lawler of New York. york voted Opposed to the measure.
Related: House Republicans advance Marjorie Taylor Greene’s transphobic bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth
All major medical associations in the United States, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, support providing this safe, evidence-based care to young people under the supervision of qualified health care providers.
The vote represents a watershed in the national fight over transgender rights, turning what was a largely state-level effort to ban gender-affirming care for minors into a federal mandate with far-reaching implications for medical practice, family autonomy, and the Constitution. Senate Democrats are expected to reject the bill and try to block or delay its passage.
Before the House voted on the bill, Democratic Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont introduced a motion to recommit, giving the minority party the last chance to amend the bill or send it back to committee before a vote for final passage. The motion failed, allowing the House to proceed with final passage of the bill.
After the bill passed, California Rep. Mark Takano, chairman of the Congressional Equality Caucus, criticized the results in a statement.
“This bill is the most extreme anti-transgender bill ever passed by the House of Representatives, and it directly attacks parents’ rights to work with their children and provide them with the medical care they need. If passed, this bill would subject doctors, pharmacists, and in some cases young transgender parents to prison terms for choosing to prioritize the health of their children,” Takano said. “This bill is beyond cruel, and its passage will forever be a stain on the institution of the United States Congress.”
Ahead of the vote, Greene publicly clashed with Republican lawmakers over amendments to her bill, accusing House leadership and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas of weakening the bill’s scope. In a series of posts on
“My bill, if passed as a standalone bill, would fully criminalize it,” Greene wrote, adding that allowing Roy’s amendment to pass would leave untouched what she called “California’s state policies and laws for trans children.” She warned that if the amendment passes, “Republicans will be held solely responsible for not stopping their evil transgender policies against our children.”
Related: What’s behind Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent push to criminalize gender-affirming care?
Greene promoted the bill as a fulfillment of a promise from Trump and Congressional Republicans to “protect our children from the transgender agenda.”
House approval came during Greene’s final weeks in Congress. Last month, he announced he would resign in early January after an escalating conflict with House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and growing distance from Trump and his allies.
Related: Citing Scrametti, appeals court rejects challenge to Oklahoma’s ban on youth gender-affirming care
Democrats and LGBTQ+ advocates warned that the bill would have immediate and far-reaching effects, regardless of whether it ultimately becomes law.
Those concerns were echoed at a press conference hosted by the Human Rights Campaign ahead of Tuesday’s vote. The group’s president, Kelly Robinson, said the bill would criminalize a treatment that is widely accepted in the medical community. “They want to put pediatricians and parents in jail to take care of their children,” Robinson said. “I’d like to ask you again, what are we doing here?”
Robinson argued that the bill reflects misplaced priorities as Congress faces a deadline for major health benefits. “There are a lot of things that the American people are begging us to address,” he said, warning that millions could lose coverage if Republicans don’t take action to extend tax subsidies. Instead, she said, lawmakers are looking to end the year “spending their time and energy voting on proposals that target a small and vulnerable population in this country: transgender children.”
Medical experts have warned that the bill’s passage could chill health care nationwide. Dr. Kenneth Haller, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, said similar state regulations are already forcing families out of Missouri. “Until recently, we didn’t have to tell parents that there were safe, effective, and thoroughly researched treatments for the conditions that were causing their children to suffer, yet states were outlawing these treatments,” he says. “It’s not science. It’s just blind ideology.”
Related: Supreme Court rules that states can ban gender-affirming care for young people in U.S. v. Scumetti
Advocates for transgender youth emphasized that the harm is already being felt. Rodrigo Hen-Lehtinen, executive vice president of The Trevor Project, said the organization’s crisis counselors regularly listen to young people struggling with political attacks on health care. “This care has literally saved the lives of so many young people,” he said, adding that in the organization’s latest national survey, 90% of LGBTQ+ young people say recent politics are having a negative impact on their mental health.
Parents said the law was life-changing. Rachel Gonzalez, a Texas parent of a transgender teenager, said she moved out of state because her family could no longer afford care.
“Politicians should not be making decisions about private health care in their clinics or living rooms,” she said. “Transgender youth should never be used as political pawns.”
Takano added, “In order to protect the rights and safety of transgender youth and their families, it is imperative that Senate Democrats step in to prevent this dangerous bill from reaching President Trump’s desk at a time when the federal government is already extremely hostile toward the transgender community.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the names of Democrats who voted in favor of the bill.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
