A new bill from Sen. Josh Hawley would allow people "harmed" by gender transitioning surgeries as minors to bring legal action against clinics and providers, and would bar federal funding from going to any university or hospital affiliated with pediatric clinics that perform these surgeries.
"What the American people are seeing take place at pediatric gender clinics in St. Louis and across the nation is appalling," Hawley, R-Mo., said in a statement announcing the "Protecting Our Kids from Child Abuse Act."
"Children who are harmed by these dangerous procedures, which are often irreversible and sterilizing, will now be able to fight back against those who perpetrated their abuse. And federal taxpayers will no longer be forced to foot the bill for abusive treatment," he continued.
His bill would create a "private right of action" for people harmed by a gender transition procedure against clinics, a medical practitioner or an affiliated university or hospital. It would also prohibit federal funding to hospitals or clinics providing pediatric gender transitioning procedures.
Last week, Hawley announced that he is looking into allegations of child abuse at the St. Louis Children's Hospital.
The issue of children receiving "gender-affirming" care has come under scrutiny from members of Congress, and people who have been affected by these surgeries are speaking out.
A former transgender teenager who was put on puberty blockers and testosterone at 13 and underwent a double mastectomy at 15 is now saying she is afraid of living with painful side effects of the gender-affirming medical interventions forever.
"I've lost all my trust in my health care provider and possibly even health care," Chloe Cole told Fox News Digital. She detransitioned after having the double mastectomy.
The Biden administration has prioritized advancing the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, including access to medical treatments for transgender people and children.
President Biden signed an executive order last June that instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to work with states in order to ensure that children receive "greater access" to gender-affirming care.
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The White House touted the Biden Department of Justice's role in intervening in lawsuits nationwide "challenging state laws that seek to ban transgender children from accessing gender-affirming health care and participating in school activities as unconstitutional."
Fox News' Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
