GOP-led House passes bill to block the use of Medicaid funds for transgender care for minors
By Camila DeChalus, Ellis Kim, CNN
(CNN) — The GOP-controlled House passed a bill that would block Medicaid funds from being used for gender identity care to minors.
The measure, sponsored by Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, passed by a vote of 215 to 201 with four Democrats voting in favor.
It’s the second bill passed by the House in as many days aimed at restricting access to transgender care for minors. It is unclear if either bill will be taken up by the GOP-led Senate and neither is likely to garner sufficient support from Democrats to succeed in that chamber. But the move by House Republicans to advance the measures stands as a statement of the party’s priorities ahead of a critical midterm election year.
On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that would criminalize transgender care for minors. Under the bill, which was sponsored by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, doctors who provide gender identity care to minors could face up to 10 years in prison.
Advocacy groups like the ACLU have strongly criticized the measures saying that if they are signed into law, it could have a devastating impact on transgender youth.
Passage of the bill also comes after the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday morning that it would take more measures to end transgender care for minors.
“The American people deserve accountability in how their taxpayer dollars are spent,” Crenshaw said in a statement after introducing the bill in January. “Using Medicaid funds for unproven and irreversible procedures on minors is not only medically irresponsible but also a betrayal of public trust.”
Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride on Wednesday criticized congressional Republicans as being “obsessed with trans people” ahead of the votes.
“I actually think they think more about trans people than trans people think about trans people,” said McBride, who is the first out transgender member of Congress.
McBride said that Republicans were “trying to politicize a misunderstood community and misunderstood care.”
“No one’s healthcare should be politicized,” she said
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