119-hr4618

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4618 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4618

To establish a Federal tort against pediatric gender clinics and other 
entities pushing gender-transition procedures that cause bodily injury 
 to children or harm the mental health of children.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 22, 2025

 Mr. Steube (for himself and Mrs. Miller of Illinois) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Education 
 and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
 Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
 within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To establish a Federal tort against pediatric gender clinics and other 
entities pushing gender-transition procedures that cause bodily injury 
 to children or harm the mental health of children.

 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 ``Jamie Reed Protecting Our Kids from 
Child Abuse Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL TORT FOR HARM TO CHILDREN CAUSED BY GENDER-TRANSITION 
 PROCEDURES.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Gender transition procedure.--
        (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
        (B) , the term ``gender-transition procedure'' means--
            (i) the prescription or administration of 
 gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or any 
 other puberty-blocking drugs for the purpose of 
 changing the body of an individual so that it 
 conforms to the subjective sense of identity of 
 the individual, in the case such identity is at 
 odds with the individual's biological sex of 
 male or female;
            (ii) the prescription or administration of 
 testosterone (when prescribed to a female) or 
 estrogen (when prescribed to a male) for the 
 purpose of changing the body of an individual 
 so that it conforms to the subjective sense of 
 identity of the individual, in the case such 
 identity is at odds with the individual's 
 biological sex of male or female; or
            (iii) a surgery to change the body of an 
 individual so that it conforms to the 
 subjective sense of identity of the individual, 
 in the case such identity is at odds with the 
 individual's biological sex of male or female.
        (B) Exception.--The term ``gender-transition 
 procedure'' does not include--
            (i) an intervention described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) that is performed on--
            (I) an individual with biological 
 sex characteristics that are inherently 
 ambiguous, such as those born with 46 
 XX chromosomes with virilization, 46 XY 
 chromosomes with undervirilization, or 
 having both ovarian and testicular 
 tissue; or
            (II) an individual with respect to 
 whom a 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;
            (ii) the treatment of any infection, 
 injury, disease, or disorder that has been 
 caused or exacerbated by the performance of an 
 intervention described in subparagraph
        (A) without regard to whether the intervention was 
 performed in accordance with State or Federal 
 law or whether the intervention is covered by 
 the private right of action under subsection
            (c) ; or
            (iii) 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 the 
 procedure is performed.

    (2) Hospital.--The term ``hospital'' has the meaning given 
 such term in 

section 1861

    (e) of the Social Security Act (42 
 U.S.C. 1395x

    (e) ).

    (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
 ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
 term in 

section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1001).

    (4) Medical practitioner.--The term ``medical 
 practitioner'' means a person who is licensed, certified, or 
 otherwise authorized by the laws of a State to administer 
 health care in the ordinary course of the practice of the 
 person's profession.

    (5) Minor.--The term ``minor'' means an individual who has 
 not yet reached 18 years of age.

    (6) Pediatric gender clinic.--The term ``pediatric gender 
 clinic'' means a medical facility that specializes in the 
 diagnosis or treatment of gender discordance and gender 
 dysphoria in minors, including medical interventions such as 
 therapeutic diagnosis of gender dysphoria and performance of 
 (or referral for) gender-transition procedures on minors.

    (b) Liability.--The following individuals and entities shall be 
liable in accordance with this section to any individual who suffers 
bodily injury or harm to mental health (including any physical, 
psychological, emotional, or physiological harm) that is attributable, 
in whole or in part, to a gender-transition procedure performed on the 
individual when the individual was a minor:

    (1) A pediatric gender clinic where the gender-transition 
 procedure was provided.

    (2) Any medical practitioner who administered health care, 
 at the time of the particular procedure, at the pediatric 
 gender clinic where the gender-transition procedure was 
 provided.

    (3) An institution of higher education that hosts, 
 operates, partners with, provides funding to, or is otherwise 
 affiliated with the pediatric gender clinic where the gender-
 transition procedure was provided.

    (4) A hospital that hosts, operates, partners with, 
 provides funding to, or is otherwise affiliated with the 
 pediatric gender clinic where the gender-transition procedure 
 was provided.

    (5) Any medical practitioner who performed the gender-
 transition procedure on the individual.
            (c) Private Right of Action.--An individual who suffers bodily 
injury or harm to mental health that is attributable, in whole or in 
part, to a gender-transition procedure provided to the individual when 
the individual was a minor may, not later than 30 years after the date 
on which the individual turns 18 years of age, bring a civil action 
against an individual or entity described in subsection

    (b) , in an 
appropriate district court of the United States or a State court of 
competent jurisdiction for--

    (1) compensatory damages;

    (2) punitive damages; and

    (3) attorney's fees and costs.
            (d) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative defense to an 
action brought by or on behalf of an individual upon whom a gender-
transition procedure was performed under subsection
            (c) that the 
pediatric gender clinic or medical practitioner who performed the 
gender-transition procedure on the individual, at all relevant times, 
did not know and had no reason to know that the individual in question 
was a minor.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING.

 No Federal funds may be made available--

    (1) to a pediatric gender clinic;

    (2) to an institution of higher education or hospital that 
 hosts, operates, partners with, provides funding to, or is 
 otherwise affiliated with, a pediatric gender clinic; or

    (3) for any gender-transition procedure performed on a 
 minor.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE AND RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.

 This Act shall--

    (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and

    (2) apply to any gender-transition procedure that took 
 place before, on, or after the effective date under paragraph

    (1) .

SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of this Act, and the application of the remaining provisions 
of this Act, to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected.
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