The U.S. House has passed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes (R-GA) so-called Protect Childrens Innocence Act, a bill to ban and criminalize gender-affirming care for minors nationwide. It passed 216-211, withDemocratic Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX), Vicente Gonzalez (TX), andRep. Don Davis (NC) voting with the Republican majority in favor of it. Only four Republicans voted against it.Though the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, Greene touted it as one of President Trumps key campaign promises. LGBTQ+ Congress members have said the bill is cruel and criticized Republicans for focusing on anti-trans legislation while doing nothing to address more pressing social issues. Related Trans youth & families sue hospitals for denying them care: Theyre living through a nightmare The legislation, which Greene has repeatedly introduced in successive Congress sessions since August 2022, would make it a Class C federal felony for doctors to follow the standards of care for gender dysphoria in trans youth, including prescribing any puberty blockers or hormones. It would also ban federal funds including Medicaid funds from being used for gender-affirming care for trans people, ban medical schools from teaching about such care, stop health care plans under the Affordable Care Act from funding the care, and ban anyone found to have performed gender affirming care from immigrating to the United States. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Greene said that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) promised a vote on her bill in exchange for her support of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a $901 billion national defense spending bill approved by the House last week in a 312-112 vote.. The NDAA contains a provision that would ban trans female athletes from competing on womens sports teams at military academies.Greene said her bill was one of President Trumps key campaign promises and executive orders, adding, Every Republican campaigned to protect kids from the trans agenda. During the 2024 election, Republicans ran ads negatively highlighting Democrats support of trans-inclusive policies. In early January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to ban youth and adults under the age of 19 from accessing gender-affirming care and to investigate any organizations providing such care. The order directed the Department of Health to ignore all studies affirming the benefits of gender-affirming care, ordered medical schools to stop teaching about it, and threatened prosecution against the 16 sanctuary states that currently protect this form of care from out-of-state prosecutorial investigations against it.On Wednesday, Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), the only out trans Congress member, spoke against Greenes bill on the Capitol steps. Noting that tax credits for the Affordable Care Act will expire soon, raising healthcare costs for an estimated 22 millions of Americans nationwide, McBride said, They 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 everyones health care in order to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent. All Republican politicians care about is making the rich richer and attacking trans people, she added. They are obsessed with trans people. I actually think they think more about trans people than trans people think about trans people.Rep. Mark Takano (D-California), the chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, also denounced Greenes bill, saying, 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. 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 childs health. This bill is beyond cruel, and its passage will forever be a stain on the institution of the United States Congress.The Washington Post noted that the bill has forced Democrats to go on record on a contentious issue. While all major medical and psychological associations consider gender-affirming care as safe, effective, and essential to young trans peoples well-being, 56% of U.S. adults support banning health care professionals from providing gender-affirming care for minors, according to a 2025 study from the Pew Research Center. Currently, 26 states have bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Six of them have made it a felony crime to provide certain forms of best practice medical care to trans youth.Many Democrats and pundits have claimed trans issues contributed to the partys 2024 election night losses. The victories on the anti-trans right have emboldened some Democrats to begin wavering on their support for trans rights, with some like Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY)and Seth Moulton (D-MA) coming out in favor of anti-trans policies. Meanwhile, high-profile Democrats like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Rep. Greg Casar (TX) have warned Democrats against abandoning trans Americans. In a statement responding to the vote, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson wrote, Every child, including transgender children, deserves to thrive. And every family deserves the freedom and privacy to see a doctor and get the care their child needs. But politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene and the MAGA House majority are obsessed with weaponizing their power to terrorize transgender people. Instead of tackling the real crisis of skyrocketing health care costs and fighting to guarantee every child access to quality care, they have forced through a bill that overrides the judgment of parents and doctors.Should this bill become law,doctors could face the threat of prison simply for doing their jobs and providing the care they were trained to deliver, Robinson added. Parents could be criminalized and even imprisoned for supporting their children and ensuring they receive prescribed medication. Voters will not forget that this Republican majority chose to tear families apart and endanger vulnerable youth over the needs of our country.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.