House lawmakers narrowly approved legislation Wednesday that would make certain medical procedures for minors a federal crime, sending the measure to the Senate after a tense floor debate and internal Republican clashes.
The Protect Children’s Innocence Act was passed by a 216-211 vote. The bill would criminalize surgeries and hormonal treatments intended to alter a minor’s gender, while allowing limited exceptions for rare medical conditions.
Medical professionals who violate the law could face fines and up to 10 years in prison. Minors who undergo the procedures would not face criminal penalties.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), the bill’s sponsor, framed the vote as a moral obligation and a generational line in the sand. She argued that Congress must act when irreversible medical decisions are made on behalf of children.
Speaking on the House floor before the vote, Greene said minors lack the capacity to consent to permanent medical interventions.
“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,” Greene said. “This is common sense. This is good versus evil.”
The bill’s passage followed public infighting among Republicans. Greene clashed with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) after he introduced an amendment aimed at narrowing how federal jurisdiction under the Constitution’s commerce clause would apply.
Roy said his proposal was intended to limit criminal liability by more precisely defining when prohibited conduct falls under federal authority. The House Rules Committee said the amendment sought to clarify jurisdictional boundaries.
Greene sharply criticized the move, accusing Roy of undermining the bill’s core purpose. She argued that the legislation was designed to criminalize all pediatric gender-related medical interventions, regardless of whether federal funds were involved.
“WTF is Chip Roy doing????? And this guy wants to be attorney general of Texas but refuses to protect children??!!!” Greene wrote online.
Roy defended his position by pointing to constitutional limits on federal power, saying the Constitution still matters and warning against an overly broad interpretation of interstate commerce.
He later withdrew the amendment, saying the decision was made “to avoid any confusion about how united Republicans are in protecting children from these grotesque procedures.”
Greene, a high-profile conservative lawmaker, is scheduled to resign from the House on Jan. 5, 2026. Championing the bill could mark her final major legislative effort.
Democrats overwhelmingly opposed the bill, with only Reps. Vicente Gonzales and Henry Cuellar of Texas and Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina breaking ranks.
Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware — the first openly transgender member of Congress — led the opposition. Speaking from the steps of the Capitol, McBride cited her personal experience and argued that lawmakers should not interfere in medical decisions.
“I was a kid once. And my biggest regret in life is that I never got a childhood without pain,” McBride said.
“Politicians should never insert themselves into the personal health care decisions of patients, parents, and their providers — and that includes trans Americans,” she added.
Despite clearing the House, the bill faces long odds in the Senate, where it would likely encounter a 60-vote filibuster threshold.
At least 26 states already have laws restricting hormone therapy or gender transition surgeries for minors.
The vote came during a busy legislative day for House Republicans, who also advanced a separate package of health care policies promoted as a conservative alternative to extending the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
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Um, while I applaud MTG for this effort, I kinda think that there would be more reward if she and the rest of the Repubs would have put their efforts toward Healthcare Reform! Geez, come on Man. Something substantial that hopefully would allow them to keep the House. Oh my God.