[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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