Illustration: Todd Franson, Marjorie Taylor Greene photo: Gage Skidmore
The U.S. House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to advance a bill that would imprison doctors for providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors and punish parents who consent to their child’s treatment.
The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), would impose prison sentences of up to 10 years on medical providers who recommend or prescribe puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgery to transgender patients under 18. It would also criminalize parents who consent to their child’s treatment or transport them across state lines to obtain such care.
The bill includes narrow exceptions for cases deemed “medically necessary,” including treatment for intersex individuals, care intended to remedy injuries caused by prior medical interventions, procedures required to prevent impairment of a major bodily function, or treatment for precocious puberty, a condition in which secondary sex characteristics develop at an unusually early age.
The bill explicitly prohibits medical providers from recommending gender-affirming treatments for what it defines as “mental, behavioral, or emotional distress” or “a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder.”
Republicans overwhelmingly supported the bill, with four defections: Reps. Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Gabe Evans (Colo.), and Mike Kennedy (Utah). All but Kennedy represent Democratic-leaning or swing districts.
Most Democrats opposed the bill, though three members — Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), and Don Davis (N.C.) — voted with Republicans, allowing the measure to pass the House 216-211.
The standalone bill is not expected to advance in the Senate, where 60 votes would be required to overcome a filibuster. Even so, the vote helps normalize the idea of imposing criminal penalties on doctors who treat transgender youth and on parents who transport or relocate their children to access such care.
Greene previously said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) promised a vote on her bill in exchange for her support of the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense spending measure. Greene had initially voted against the bill, but her reversal allowed it to clear a key procedural hurdle. The defense bill includes a provision barring transgender cadets at military academies from competing on female-designated teams.
Greene has framed the bill as fulfilling campaign promises made by Republicans, including President Donald Trump — despite her recent falling out with him — to protect children from what they call “transgender ideology.”
She also argued that the measure aligns with two executive orders issued by Trump earlier this year — one recognizing only biological sex as valid and another barring federal funds from institutions that provide gender-affirming care to anyone under 19 and prohibiting medical schools from teaching about such treatments.
The bill mirrors laws in 26 states that already bar minors from accessing gender-affirming care. In six of those states, individuals who assist youth in obtaining such treatment can face felony charges.
With little chance of clearing the Senate, the measure functions largely as a messaging bill, allowing Republicans to force a politically charged vote on transgender health care. While a 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 56% of U.S. adults support restricting gender-affirming care for minors, a separate poll of voters in competitive House districts found strong opposition to jailing doctors or parents for providing or facilitating such care.
U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the only out transgender member of Congress, condemned the bill during remarks on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, flanked by fellow lawmakers.
McBride criticized Republican House leaders for prioritizing votes on Greene’s bill and on a similar measure by U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) that would bar Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for minors, while taking no action to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
“All Republican politicians care about is making the rich richer and attacking trans people,” McBride said. “They are obsessed with trans people. I actually think they think more about trans people than trans people think about trans people.”
McBride added that Republicans “would rather have us focus in and debate a misunderstood and vulnerable one percent of the population instead of focusing on the fact that they are gutting everyone’s health care in order to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent.”
“This bill is the most extreme anti-transgender legislation to ever pass through the House of Representatives and a direct attack on the rights of parents to work with their children and their doctors to provide them with the medical care they need,” U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “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.”
U.S. Catholic bishops have voted to bar Catholic hospitals from providing transgender patients with gender-affirming care, including hormones and surgical procedures.
The vote, taken last week during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' plenary assembly in Baltimore, updates the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services," the Church's rulebook governing medical procedures it deems immoral.
The directives spell out how Catholic-affiliated hospitals and staff should respond to medical situations that may clash with personal religious beliefs or Church teaching on issues like end-of-life care, contraception, abortion, or gender identity.
Erik Bottcher has received an endorsement from Equality PAC, the political action arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus, as he runs to succeed longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who plans to retire at the end of next year.
The openly gay Democrat, who represents Chelsea and won re-election to the New York City Council in last month’s municipal elections, is running for Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District, which Nadler has represented -- through multiple redistricting cycles -- since 1992.
Shortly after filing paperwork in October, Bottcher shattered a state record for the most money raised within 24 hours, pulling in $683,241.
On Monday, November 10, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected former Kentucky county clerk and same-sex marriage opponent Kim Davis' appeal of a lower court's decision against her -- including a petition demanding that the court revisit and overturn its landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nation's highest court denied a writ of certiorari, which would have signaled its intention to review Davis' case -- and the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodgesdecision, which struck down state-level bans on same-sex marriage. It would have taken four justices to agree to hear Davis' challenge.
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