[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4953 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4953
To authorize a civil right of action for individuals on whom gender-
related medical treatment was performed while such individual was a
minor, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 12, 2025
Ms. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize a civil right of action for individuals on whom gender-
related medical treatment was performed while such individual was a
minor, 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 ``Gender-Affirming Child Abuse
Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. CIVIL RIGHT OF ACTION RELATED TO GENDER-RELATED MEDICAL
TREATMENT.
(a) Civil Action.--
(1) Right of action.--
(A) Except as provided in paragraph (4), an
individual on whom gender-affirming care was performed
while such individual was a minor, in a circumstance
described in paragraph (3) may bring a civil action in
an appropriate district court of the United States
against each person who performed the gender-affirming
care for relief set forth in paragraph (2).
(B) Rights on behalf of certain individuals.--In
the case of an individual who is under 18 years of age,
incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal
guardian of the individual or representative of the
individual's estate, another family member, or any
other person appointed as suitable by the court, may
assume the individual's rights under this section.
(2) Relief.--An individual may recover the actual damages
sustained by the individual or liquidated damages in the amount
of $250,000 for each instance of gender affirming care being
performed on the individual while such individual was a minor,
and the cost of the action, including reasonable attorney's
fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.
(3) Circumstances described.--For the purposes of paragraph
(1), the circumstances described in this paragraph are that--
(A) the defendant or victim traveled in interstate
or foreign commerce, or traveled using a means,
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in connection
with the conduct described in paragraph (1);
(B) the defendant used a means, channel, facility,
or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct
described in paragraph (1);
(C) any payment of any kind was made, directly or
indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the
conduct described in paragraph (1) using any means,
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or
foreign commerce;
(D) the defendant transmitted in interstate or
foreign commerce any communication relating to or in
furtherance of the conduct described in paragraph (1)
using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality
of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce by any means or in
manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or
electromagnetic transmission;
(E) any instrument, item, substance, or other
object that has traveled in interstate or foreign
commerce was used to perform the conduct described in
paragraph (1);
(F) the conduct described in paragraph (1) occurred
within the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or
possession of the United States; or
(G) the conduct described in paragraph (1)
otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or foreign
commerce.
(b) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) Gender-related medical treatment.--The term ``gender-
related medical treatment''--
(A) means--
(i) with respect to a female individual,
medical treatments provided for purposes of
addressing the perception of such individual
that the gender or sex of such individual is
not female, including--
(I) surgical procedures,
including--
(aa) vaginectomy;
(bb) hysterectomy;
(cc) oophorectomy;
(dd) reconstruction of the
urethra;
(ee) metoidioplasty;
(ff) phalloplasty;
(gg) salpingo-oophorectomy;
(hh) scrotoplasty;
(ii) implantation of
erection or testicular
protheses;
(jj) subcutaneous
mastectomy;
(kk) vocal cord surgery;
(ll) pectoral implants; and
(mm) penile
transplantation;
(II) exogenous doses of
testosterone or other androgens;
(III) puberty blockers, including--
(aa) GnRH agonists; and
(bb) synthetic drugs that
suppress the production of
estrogen and progesterone or
delay or suppress pubertal
development in female
individuals; and
(IV) such other medical treatment,
identified by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, that may be
provided for purposes of addressing the
perception of such individual that the
gender or sex of such individual is not
male.
(ii) with respect to a male individual,
medical treatments provided for purposes of
addressing the perception of such individual
that the gender or sex of such individual is
not male, including--
(I) surgical procedures,
including--
(aa) penectomy;
(bb) orchiectomy;
(cc) vaginoplasty;
(dd) clitoroplasty;
(ee) vulvoplasty;
(ff) augmentation
mammoplasty;
(gg) facial feminization
surgery;
(hh) vocal cord surgery;
(ii) chondrolaryngoplasty;
(jj) gluteal augmentation;
and
(kk) uterine
transplantation;
(II) exogenous doses of estrogen;
(III) puberty blockers, including--
(aa) GnRH agonists; and
(bb) synthetic drugs that
suppress the production of
testosterone or delay or
suppress pubertal development
in male individuals; and
(IV) such other medical treatment,
identified by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, that may be
provided for purposes of addressing the
perception of such individual that the
gender or sex of such individual is not
male.
(B) does not include any medical treatment
performed on an individual for the purposes of
treating--
(i) a disorder of sex development,
diagnosed by a physician after such physician
has determined through genetic or biochemical
testing that such individual does not have
normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid
hormone production, or sex steroid hormone
action;
(ii) irresolvably ambiguous biological sex
characteristics of such individual, including
the presence of--
(I) 46 XX chromosomes with
virilization;
(II) 46 XY chromosomes with
undervirilization; or
(III) both ovarian and testicular
tissue; or
(iii) an infection, injury, disease, or
disorder caused or exacerbated by gender-
related medical treatment that was furnished to
an individual.
(2) Sex.--The term ``sex'' means the biological
determination as to whether an individual is male or female, as
such terms are defined in this section.
(3) Gender.--The term ``gender''--
(A) means--
(i) males, females, or the natural
differences between males and females, unless
such term is otherwise specified or used alone
(rather than with or as an adjective modifying
other words); and
(ii) a synonym for sex; and
(B) does not mean a synonym for terms or ideas such
as gender identity, experienced gender, gender
expression, or gender roles.
(4) Female.--The term ``female'' means an individual who
naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a
developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the
reproductive system that at some point produces, transports,
and utilizes eggs for fertilization.
(5) Male.--The term ``male'' means an individual who
naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a
developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the
reproductive system that at some point produces, transports,
and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
(6) Minor.--The term ``minor'' means an individual under
the age of 18.
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