House Republicans who waged fierce political battles over Obamacare and abortion after that have found a new focus as the lead-up to the 2024 elections: gender-affirming care for transgender Americans.
They’ve added riders on seven of the 12 House fiscal 2024 appropriations bills that would put restrictions on gender-affirming care, which can be anything from hormone therapy to surgical care to insurance coverage of either.
The fight has extended beyond spending bills into policy measures as well: They’ve held up traditionally bipartisan programs to pay for pediatrician training over hospitals’ decisions to provide such care.
The Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program, which pays for residencies and fellowships for medical students training to be pediatricians, is typically a noncontroversial, highly bipartisan health care reauthorization that sails out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
But this year, the bill may be held up by a fight over a provision related to gender-affirming care for minors.
Rep. Daniel Crenshaw, R-Texas, introduced a version of the legislation that would bar any federal funds to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy and 19 specific procedures for transgender youth. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill along party lines in July.
