Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has introduced a bill that will allow children harmed by dangerous, irreversible transgender procedures to file lawsuits against the doctors and hospitals who performed the procedures.
The “Protecting Our Kids from Child Abuse Act,” which was introduced on January 29, will allow individuals to sue pediatric gender clinics and doctors who provided them with dangerous cross-sex hormones and transgender surgeries.
The measure will allow lawsuits “against pediatric gender clinics and other entities pushing gender-transition procedures that cause bodily injury to children or harm the mental health of children.”
Hawley issued a statement about the measure, where he credited President Donald Trump for signing an executive order about the issue titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” — which blocked federal funding for any hospitals that perform transgender procedures on minors.
.@realDonaldTrump latest executive order directs the Attorney General to work w/ Congress to protect children from transgender surgeries that mutilate their bodies. Today I will reintroduce my legislation to allow victims of these surgeries to SUE the doctors who harmed them
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 29, 2025
“Our children should no longer suffer from irreversible and dangerous child mutilation procedures, which the Biden administration enabled and promoted,” Hawley wrote. “I welcome President Trump’s strong action to reverse this child abuse and look forward to working with his administration to advance legislation that protects our kids.”
Today my home state Senator @HawleyMO has proposed a Federal Bill to create a private right of action for individuals who were harmed by a gender-transition procedure performed on them when they were minors. A pathway forward towards justice for those harmed.
I was just… pic.twitter.com/NclZ8sI7vs
— Jamie Reed Whistleblower (@JamieWhistle) January 29, 2025
Trump’s executive order effectively paved the way for Hawley’s bill, as Trump ordered the attorney general to work with Congress to pass legislation that would allow lawsuits against doctors and hospitals who perform dangerous, irreversible transgender procedures on children. According to The Daily Wire, this includes “providing children with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, performing surgeries to remove the breasts of girls who identify as boys, and genital procedures. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have been linked with heart problems, fertility issues, and can harm bone development.”
Hawley’s bill notes that any pediatric gender clinic, doctor, or university that houses or operates a gender clinic can be sued up to 30 years after the minor harmed by the procedures turns 18. The victim of these procedures is entitled to both punitive and compensatory damages upon winning a lawsuit. The measure also bans U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding pediatric gender clinics, funding universities that operate these clinics, or supporting any transgender procedures for minors.