Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, on her way out of Congress but still damaging, announced Wednesday that the House is promised a vote on a bill that would criminalize the provision of gender-affirming care to transgender youth.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he would bring the bill to a vote in exchange for Greene’s support for the National Defense Authorization Act, according to far-right lawmakers.
Related: Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign in January
“I have entered into an agreement to change my vote against this rule to a yes vote in exchange for next week’s floor vote on my bill, which is one of President Trump’s major campaign promises and executive orders,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Leader Steve Scalise promised me my bill. Act to protect the innocence of children, HR 3492 is scheduled to come to the floor for a vote next Wednesday, December 17th. This makes transgender behavior by a child under 18 a class C felony. All Republicans campaigned to protect children from the transgender agenda. ”
There is no such thing as a transgender agenda.
Greene’s bill would criminalize medically necessary, often life-saving care for transgender youth. Providing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria would be a felony. Even though the effects of these treatments are reversible, the bill calls them “chemical castration.” The bill would also ban gender reassignment surgery, known as “dismemberment.” Genital surgery is rarely performed on minors, although some may undergo upper surgery.
If the bill becomes law, health care workers would face up to 10 years in federal prison and hefty fines for violations. Even helping a transgender teenager cross state lines or access telehealth services for care can lead to a 10-year prison sentence, and parents can also be implicated if they administer prescribed medication to their child. The measure does not apply to cisgender youth seeking similar interventions, such as breast reductions, puberty suppression for precocious puberty, or other medically approved procedures. It would also exempt intersex infants from surgeries, many of which are non-consensual and medically unnecessary, a practice widely condemned by human rights groups.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill on a party-line vote in June, but the full House has yet to vote on it.
Related: 21 times Marjorie Taylor Greene was the worst.
The NDAA itself contains several anti-trans provisions, including a ban on trans women enrolled in military academies from participating in sports and anti-DEI language. However, House and Senate negotiators removed “a ban on funding for transgender-related surgeries, a policy that could affect not only service members and their families, but any company that contracts with the military, and a policy that would prevent insurance plans from covering transgender surgeries.” Erin in the morning Note.
The Human Rights Campaign immediately condemned the plan to vote on the Green Bill. “Every family should have the freedom and privacy to go to the doctor and get the care their child needs,” said HRC President Kelly Robinson. press release. “But Marjorie Taylor Greene and the politicians who support her, who are unstoppable in using their power to terrorize transgender people, believe they know better than parents and doctors. Now, anti-equality House members may consider legislation that would put doctors in prison just for doing their jobs. It could mean a parent being handcuffed and thrown into a police car for going to the pharmacy and administering medication. Our leaders should find a solution to the urgent crisis of rising health care costs and ensure that every child has access to quality health care, instead of thinking of new ways to use the power of government to tear apart people’s lives. We will not rest until this bill is defeated.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
