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The Trump administration is throwing its support behind legislation that would ban transgender medical procedures for minors and open the door to lawsuits against doctors and hospitals that provide them.
The Justice Department said Wednesday it had “transmitted a legislative proposal to Congress that protects and defends children from chemical and surgical mutilation under the guise of ‘gender-affirming care.’” The proposal mirrors a bill introduced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Rep. Bob Onder, R-Mo., called the Victims of Chemical or Surgical Mutilation Act.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the move follows concerns raised by families across the country.
“The Department of Justice has heard from far too many families who have been devastated by mutilative medical procedures that fly in the face of basic biology,” Bondi said.
“While we continue our ongoing legal battle to protect children, we appreciate our colleagues in Congress who are working diligently alongside us to end these abusive procedures once and for all,” she added.
The legislation would bar doctors from performing surgeries such as double mastectomies for girls identifying as boys or genital operations on minors. It would also prohibit prescribing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to children. Supporters of the measure say such drugs can cause irreversible harm, including infertility, impaired bone growth and heart complications.
In addition, the bill would allow individuals who underwent such treatments as minors to file civil lawsuits against health care providers. They could seek compensation for medical costs tied to reversing or mitigating the effects of the procedures, as well as damages for emotional distress and pain, with the statute of limitations extending 25 years beyond the person’s 18th birthday.
President Trump has made restricting transgender procedures for minors a priority during his second term. In January, he signed an executive order cutting off federal funding to organizations that perform or promote such treatments.
“Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the order noted.
The Trump administration has also pressed hospitals nationwide to halt the practices.