The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that would ban and criminalize gender affirming surgeries and related care for people under 18.
Lawmakers voted largely along party lines to pass the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, a measure that, if it became law, would make it a federal crime for doctors to provide puberty blockers, hormones, or surgeries to minors and could carry prison penalties for some providers. It now moves to the Senate, where its future is uncertain.
Supporters say the bill protects children from irreversible medical interventions, while opponents, including major medical organizations, argue it interferes with family medical decisions and could harm young people’s health and wellbeing.
“This bill is the most extreme anti transgender legislation to ever pass through the House,” one Democratic lawmaker said following the vote.
by sailink