“Disgusting and Appalling”: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduced A Bill That Criminalizes Performing Transgender Medical Care

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a bill on Friday that would make providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender minors a felony.

According to the language of the legislation, gender-affirming care includes surgery “for the purpose of changing the body of such individual to correspond to a sex that differs from their biological sex,” plastic surgery that “feminizes or masculinizes the facial features,” hormone therapy and puberty blockers, among other interventions.

Anyone who performs gender-affirming care would be committing a class C felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison with a maximum fine of $250,000, according to The Hill.

Not only would the Protect Children’s Innocence Act prohibit many medical procedures and interventions, like hormone therapy from being performed, but also would prohibit federal funds from being used for such care. The bill has 14 Republican cosponsors, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.).

“When it comes to ‘gender-affirming care,’ which is really child abuse, this is actually an assault, and it’s child abuse,” Greene said on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday. “This practice should never happen. It’s so disgusting and appalling and it’s an embarrassment to our country.”

According to Greene, two Senate candidates–J.D. Vance and Blake Masters–would support the bill if elected.

Greene’s bill is one in a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in 2022. Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law aims to limit classrooms from discussing LGBTQ+ issues. Texas is trying to authorize child abuse investigations into parents whose children transitioned genders. 

Alabama passed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which banned the provision of gender-affirming care to minors; a federal judge blocked the medication portion of the ban, allowing for providers to prescribe hormones and puberty blockers. In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a similar anti-transgender bill into law in March. The law prohibits transgender minors from getting gender reassignment surgery.