[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 457 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 457

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 15, 2023

  Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 ``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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