[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1597 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1597
To amend chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit
gender transition procedures on minors, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2023
Mr. Marshall (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Braun, Mr.
Daines, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Mullin, and Mr. Wicker) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit
gender transition procedures on minors, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Children From
Experimentation Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. GENDER TRANSITION PROCEDURES ON MINORS PROHIBITED.
Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2260B. Gender transition procedures on minors
``(a) In General.--Any physical or mental healthcare professional
who knowingly performs or provides a referral for any gender transition
procedure on a minor shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not
more than 5 years, or both.
``(b) Prohibition on Prosecution of Person on Whom Procedures Are
Performed.--No person on whom the gender transition procedure under
subsection (a) is performed may be arrested or prosecuted for an
offense under this section.
``(c) Civil Action.--A person on whom a gender transition procedure
is performed under this section may bring a civil action for
appropriate relief against each person who performed the gender
transition procedure.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Biological sex.--The term `biological sex' means the
biological indication of male and female in the context of
reproductive potential or capacity, such as sex chromosomes,
naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous
internal and external genitalia present at birth, without
regard to the psychological, chosen, or subjective experience
of the gender of an individual.
``(2) Cross-sex hormones.--The term `cross-sex hormones'
means--
``(A) testosterone or other androgens given to
biological females at doses that are profoundly larger
or more potent than would normally occur naturally in
healthy biological females; and
``(B) estrogen given to biological males at doses
that are profoundly larger or more potent than would
normally occur naturally in healthy biological males.
``(3) Gender.--The term `gender' means the psychological,
behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or
female.
``(4) Gender transition.--The term `gender transition'
means the process in which an individual goes from identifying
with and living as a gender that corresponds to his or her
biological sex to identifying with and living as a gender
different from his or her biological sex, and may involve
social, legal, or physical changes.
``(5) Gender transition procedure.--
``(A) In general.--The term `gender transition
procedure' means any medical or surgical service that
seeks--
``(i) to alter or remove physical or
anatomical characteristics or features that are
typical for the individual's biological sex; or
``(ii) to instill or create physiological
or anatomical characteristics that resemble a
sex different from the individual's birth sex.
``(B) Inclusions.--For purposes of subparagraph
(A), the term `medical or surgical service' includes--
``(i) physician's services;
``(ii) inpatient and outpatient hospital
services;
``(iii) prescribed drugs relating to gender
transition;
``(iv) a medical service that provides--
``(I) puberty-blocking drugs;
``(II) cross-sex hormones; or
``(III) other mechanisms to promote
the development of feminizing or
masculinizing features (in the opposite
sex); and
``(v) gender transition surgery.
``(C) Exclusions.--The term `gender transition
procedure' does not include--
``(i) services to individuals born with a
medically verifiable disorder of sex
development, including an individual with
external biological sex characteristics that
are irresolvably ambiguous, such as an
individual born with 46 XX chromosomes with
virilization, an individual born with 46 XY
chromosomes with undervirilization, or an
individual born having both ovarian and
testicular tissue;
``(ii) services provided when a physician
has otherwise diagnosed a disorder of sexual
development in which the physician has
determined through genetic or biochemical
testing that the individual does not have
normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid
hormone production, or sex steroid hormone
action for a biological male or biological
female; or
``(iii) the treatment of any infection,
injury, disease, or disorder that has been
caused by or exacerbated by the performance of
gender transition procedures, whether or not
the gender transition procedure was performed
in accordance with State and Federal law or
whether or not funding for the gender
transition procedure is permissible under this
section.
``(6) Gender transition surgery.--
``(A) In general.--The term `gender transition
surgery' means any medical or surgical service that
seeks to surgically alter or remove healthy physical or
anatomical characteristics or features that are typical
for the individual's biological sex in order to instill
or create physiological or anatomical characteristics
that resemble a sex different from the individual's
birth sex.
``(B) Inclusions.--The term `gender transition
surgery' includes genital gender transition surgery and
non-genital gender transition surgery.
``(C) Exclusions.--The term `gender transition
surgery' does not include any procedure undertaken
because the individual suffers from a physical
disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that
would, as certified by a physician, place the
individual in imminent danger of death or impairment of
major bodily function unless surgery is performed for
the purpose of a gender transition or for the
alleviation of psychological or mental distress.
``(7) Genital gender transition surgery.--The term `genital
gender transition surgery' means a surgical procedure performed
for the purpose of assisting an individual with a gender
transition, including--
``(A) for biologically male patients, a penectomy,
orchiectomy, vaginoplasty, clitoroplasty, and
vulvoplasty; and
``(B) for biologically female patients, a
hysterectomy/ovariectomy, reconstruction of the fixed
part of the urethra with or without a metoidioplasty or
a phalloplasty, vaginectomy, scrotoplasty, and
implantation of erection or testicular prostheses.
``(8) Minor.--The term `minor' means an individual under
the age of 18.
``(9) Non-genital gender transition surgery.--The term
`non-genital gender transition surgery' means a surgical
procedure performed for the purpose of assisting an individual
with a gender transition, including--
``(A) for biologically male patients, augmentation
mammoplasty, facial feminization surgery, liposuction,
lipofilling, voice surgery, thyroid cartilage
reduction, gluteal augmentation (implants/lipofilling),
hair reconstruction, and various aesthetic procedures;
and
``(B) for biologically female patients,
subcutaneous mastectomy, voice surgery, liposuction,
lipofilling, pectoral implants, and various aesthetic
procedures.
``(10) Puberty-blocking drugs.--The term `puberty-blocking
drugs' means--
``(A) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
analogues or other synthetic drugs used in biological
males to stop luteinizing hormone secretion and
therefore testosterone secretion; and
``(B) synthetic drugs used in biological females
that stop the production of estrogen and progesterone,
when used to delay or suppress pubertal development in
children for the purpose of assisting an individual
with a gender transition.''; and
(2) by amending the table of sections for such chapter by
adding at the end the following:
``2260B. Gender transition procedures on minors.''.
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