U.S. House Republicans End Year How They Began: Attacking Families, Doctors & Trans Kids

WASHINGTON – Today, instead of taking action to address the impending health care cost crisis, MAGA Republicans in the U.S. House ended the year trying to jail doctors and parents who support transgender kids. In a 216-211, nearly party-line vote, House Republicans passed a dangerous bill, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA), that would make it a Class C felony for doctors to provide medically necessary, evidence-based care to transgender youth. Under this legislation, health care providers could face steep fines and even prison time for simply following the standards of care endorsed by every major medical association in the United States. The bill also targets parents, threatening them with criminal liability for supporting their children in accessing or administering prescribed gender affirming care treatments. 

If that wasn’t enough, the House will also vote on a bill tomorrow, introduced by Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), that would restrict Medicaid from covering gender affirming care for transgender youth. 

With the dual votes, House Republicans will head out of town for the year, concluding an embarrassing and deeply out of touch 2025 that saw them start and end the year with attacks on trans youth, while ignoring the needs of the country. 

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson released the following statement:

“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. 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.” 

More than medical treatment, gender‑affirming care validates the humanity of transgender youth and gives them the freedom to live authentically. Families and doctors providing this support send a powerful message to trans youth that they are worthy and deserve to live wholly. A recent survey by the Human Rights Campaign and Global Strategy Group of voters in U.S. House battleground districts found that laws criminalizing parents and health care providers for supporting transgender people are deeply unpopular. According to the survey, 73% of battleground voters say Congress should not pass a law that would jail doctors or parents for providing transition-related care–including more than half of Republican voters. Additionally, 77% of voters oppose forcing transgender people off medically recommended medication. Additional polling shows nearly seven in ten Americans believe politicians are not informed enough to make these decisions, and a majority agree families and physicians — not extremist politicians — should decide best care for the trans youth in their lives. By ignoring this consensus, MAGA leaders are attacking trans youth and ignoring the voices of the American people.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people, with 3.6 million members and supporters. The HRC Foundation (a 501(c)(3)) works to ensure LGBTQ+ people are safe, seen and supported where it matters most: at school, at work and in every community across the country. From the courtroom to the classroom, from Congress to corporate America, HRC and the HRC Foundation build power through partnerships, storytelling, and action—working to create a future rooted in equity, freedom and belonging for all LGBTQ+ people.