Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 3492, a bill that would criminalize health care for transgender young people and subject parents and doctors to arrest and even prison time if they administer medically necessary care, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgery, to a person under 18.
Adam Polaski, Communications & Political Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, said today:
“After more than two years of exhausting, increasingly egregious attacks, Congress today took the most extreme step we’ve ever seen toward harming transgender youth and their families. It goes far beyond the legislation passed in 27 states that makes life-saving care inaccessible – instead, it threatens to lock parents and medical providers in prison for providing care to young people who need it. It is heart-breaking and infuriating to see that even now, on the eve of healthcare subsidies expiring and inflating healthcare costs for millions of Americans, our Congress members prioritized this extreme attack on young people and their families.”
The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where advocates, families, and the Campaign for Southern Equality will work tirelessly to defeat it.
An additional bill, H.R. 498 is expected to be heard in the House of Representatives on Thursday; this bill would prohibit federal funding for gender-affirming care for trans young people, which would lead to extreme disruptions for families insured by Medicaid, Medicare, or CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) and healthcare facilities that participate in Medicaid or Medicare.
The Trans Youth Emergency Project provides families of trans youth with 1-on-1 custom navigation services to access care, travel grants – renewable every three months for those in states with bans – and more resources to support them through this crisis.
