House passes legislation that makes performing transgender surgeries on minors a felony

The House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday night that makes it a felony for doctors to perform transgender surgeries and procedures on minors, despite heavy opposition from over 200 House Democrats. 

The legislation, titled the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, passed in a 216-211 vote, which saw 207 House Democrats and four moderate House Republicans object to it. Three House Democrats joined with their Republican counterparts to pass it.

The four House Republicans to vote with the Democrats are Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Kennedy of Utah, and Gabe Evans of Colorado, while the three Democrats are Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, and Henry Cuellar of Texas, according to the Daily Signal.

The legislation was introduced by Georgia firebrand GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is set to retire from the House next month.

"Protecting children is not optional, it’s our duty," Greene said on X. "Today on the House floor, I spoke for the voiceless: America’s kids. Children are not old enough to vote, drive, or get a tattoo and they are certainly not old enough to be chemically castrated or permanently mutilated.

"My Protect Children’s Innocence Act puts a hard stop to the exploitation of minors by radical ideologues and a greedy, profit-driven industry," she continued. "My bill criminalizes so-called 'gender-affirming care' for minors, holds offenders accountable, and reflects exactly what the American people voted for. This is common sense. This is good vs. evil."

The legislation would make it a felony to perform transgender surgeries and procedures on minors by expanding the definition of chemical castration and bodily or genital mutilation to include a range of transgender-related procedures. Offenders could face up to 10 years in federal prison.

There are exemptions for certain conditions and medical emergencies, but not for mental health-related issues.

The bill also prohibits federal funds from being used for gender-affirming care or to subsidize health insurance plans that cover gender-affirming care.

The legislation will still need to be passed by the Senate.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.