US House Passes Bill Banning Gender Transition Treatments for Minors

All Surgical Procedures and Hormone Treatments Banned
Doctors Face Up to 10 Years in Prison for Providing Care

On December 17 (local time), the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that bans gender transition treatments for minors and punishes doctors who provide such treatments.

According to reports from AFP and CNN, the House approved the "Protect Children's Innocence Act," sponsored by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican, Georgia), with 216 votes in favor and 211 against. The bill defines as a federal crime any treatment that alters a minor's body to a gender different from their biological sex, such as surgical procedures or the use of hormone blockers. It also allows for doctors who provide gender transition treatments to be punished with up to 10 years in prison or a fine.

On June 18 (local time), after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee state law banning certain medical treatments for transgender youth, angry citizens gathered at New York's Union Square. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

However, it remains uncertain whether the bill will pass the Senate. During the House vote, four Republicans opposed the bill, while three Democrats supported it, making it difficult to predict the outcome in the Senate.

Before the vote, Representative Greene stated, "This bill criminalizes gender-affirming care (gender transition treatment) for minors who are not adults and have not matured enough to make such decisions," adding that the bill "aligns with President Donald Trump's executive orders on gender transition and last year's Republican campaign pledges."

Senate Passage Uncertain

During last year's election campaign, President Trump ran an aggressive campaign opposing transgender-related policies. Shortly after beginning his second term earlier this year, he signed executive orders ending federal funding for medical services such as hormone therapy that assist minors in gender transition and banning transgender individuals from participating in women's sports, thereby terminating existing "diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)" policies for sexual minorities and others.

In response, Representative Sarah McBride (Democrat, Delaware), the first openly transgender person elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, criticized the bill, saying, "Republican politicians only care about making the rich richer and attacking transgender people."

The transgender rights group A4TE also condemned the bill, stating, "This bill seeks to strip bodily autonomy from both transgender and intersex individuals." The group pointed out that the bill allows surgical procedures for intersex children-those born with both male and female genitalia-arguing that these are "actual cases of bodily harm through surgery without the individual's consent."