Marjorie Taylor Greene Attempts to Make Gender Care for Youth a Crime

Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ members of Congress, wants to make it a crime to provide gender-affirming care to minors.

Greene Friday introduced the Protect Children's Innocence Act, which would make it a class C felony to provide any such care to a minor. Conviction would carry a prison sentence of 10 to 25 years and a fine of up to $250,000, an aide to Greene told The Hill.

Procedures banned under the bill would include puberty blockers and hormone treatment as well as surgery, although genital surgery is almost never performed on minors and the effects of gender-affirming drug treatment are largely reversible.

In an appearance Thursday on Tucker Carlson Tonight, however, Greene attacked gender-affirming care as "child abuse." "When it comes to 'gender-affirming care,'" she said with air quotes, "which is really child abuse, this is an assault that is actually child abuse, and this practice should never happen. It's so disgusting and appalling." She spoke of "teenage girls having their breasts chopped off, teenage boys being castrated." Carlson agreed with her, saying, "You can't sexually mutilate children."

The bill would also ban the use of federal funds to pay for such care, including any funds involved in insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. And it would prohibit colleges and universities from teaching about gender affirming care.

Greene said every Republican should sign on to the bill. As of Friday, she has 14 cosponsors, all Republicans, The Hill reports: Reps. Mary Miller of Illinois, Jeff Duncan and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Tony Gonzales and Lance Gooden of Texas, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Burgess Owens of Utah, Claudia Tenney of New York, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

Her bill is likely to go nowhere in the House of Representatives as long as it has a Democratic majority, but Republicans may be bolder about anti-trans and more broadly anti-LGBTQ legislation if they win a majority in November.

LGBTQ+ rights advocates and medical experts quickly attacked Greene's legislation.

"All people, including transgender young people, deserve access to health care that helps them live safe and healthy lives," said a statement issued by Dr. Kellan E. Baker, executive director and chief learning officer of the Whitman-Walker Institute. "For transgender children, pediatricians provide social support, such as encouraging a family to allow a child to wear clothing or a hairstyle that helps them feel more comfortable. There's a lot of misinformation out there, but the reality is that the only form of gender-affirming care for children is social support that helps kids understand and explore their gender as they grow up. Bills attacking health care providers and patients are dangerous political stunts. This is pure misinformation and goes against decades of research and medical expert recommendations. Politicians have no business meddling in families' personal health care decisions. This attack makes clear that the federal government must finalize and implement expanded nondiscrimination protections under the Affordable Care Act to ensure that all people, including transgender people, have a fair opportunity to access the health care they need."

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