The U.S. House passes H.R. 3492. (Screenshot via C-SPAN)
The U.S. House passed the anti-transgender “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” Dec. 17, which seeks to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans youth nationwide.
The legislation was sponsored by outgoing U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, passing largely along party lines.
Four Republicans — New York’s Mike Lawler, Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick, Colorado’s Gabe Evans and Utah’s Mike Kennedy — joined most Democrats in voting against it. Three Democrats joined Republicans by voting in favor: North Carolina’s Don Davis and Texas’ Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez.
The Congressional Equality Caucus called the bill “the most extreme anti-transgender legislation to ever pass through the House of Representatives,” condemning its passage.
“If this bill becomes law, doctors, pharmacists, and — in some circumstances — the parents of young trans people, would face time in prison for choosing to prioritize their child’s health,” said Rep. Mark Takano, caucus chair. “This bill is beyond cruel and its passage will forever be a stain on the institution of the United States Congress.”
The Human Rights Campaign was among national LGBTQ+ organizations to speak out.
“Instead of focusing on the nation’s overwhelming outcry for policies focused on affordability and the impending health care cost crisis, MAGA House leaders end the year criminalizing families and doctors for simply providing medically necessary care to trans youth,” HRC shared.
“Every child, including transgender children, deserves to thrive. And every family deserves the freedom and privacy to see a doctor and get the care their child needs,” added HRC President Kelley Robinson. “But politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene and the MAGA House majority are obsessed with weaponizing their power to terrorize transgender people.
“…Should this bill become law, doctors could face the threat of prison simply for doing their jobs and providing the care they were trained to deliver,” she continued. “Parents could be criminalized and even imprisoned for supporting their children and ensuring they receive prescribed medication.”
Robinson added that voters “will not forget that this Republican majority chose to tear families apart and endanger vulnerable youth over the needs of our country.”
The ACLU also condemned its passage.
“Politicians should never prohibit parents from doing what is best for their transgender children,” ACLU National Director of Policy & Government Affairs Mike Zamore said. “These families often spend years considering how best to support their children, only to have ill-equipped politicians interfere by attempting to criminalize the health care that they, their children, and their doctors believe is necessary to allow their children to thrive. But this bill also creates an incredibly dangerous precedent far beyond the specific care at issue, criminalizing care based on ideology and placing Washington politicians between families and their doctors.”
The Washington Post reported advocates believe it is unlikely to advance in the U.S. Senate but that its passage will “still have consequences for transgender youth.”
In his statement, Takano noted that at a time when “the federal government is already so hostile towards the transgender community, it is imperative that Senate Democrats hold the line to prevent this dangerous bill from reaching President Trump’s desk in order to protect the rights and safety of young trans people and their families.”
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