Protect Children's Innocence Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill. There are not words strong enough to express my disgust.

I will respond to the gentlewoman from Georgia. Gender-affirming surgery is never performed on young children. It is extremely rare for older transgender adolescents. This bill would have little impact on surgeries for transgender young people because surgery is already extremely rare for transgender adolescents.

Republicans keep bringing up surgeries to shift attention away from how extreme this bill is. This bill hypocritically bans safe and effective medications for an entire group of people just because of who they are, while still allowing them for everyone else.

This bill will not lower the cost of your healthcare. It will not protect children. It will not ease the strain on doctors and other healthcare providers.

What it will do is interfere with parental choice and open private medical data up to Federal investigation. It threatens to jail doctors who follow evidence-based practice supported by every medical association in the United States. It deprives children of proven lifesaving medical care.

My Republican colleagues should be ashamed. I am ashamed of what they are doing. I am ashamed that trans children out there may see this debate in the people's House and watch elected officials lie about them. I am ashamed that the world sees this democracy spending its time wielding the law as a weapon to attack a few rather than use the law as a shield to protect the vulnerable.

I am furious that, while millions of families struggle to afford groceries, healthcare, rent, and basic necessities, this is the vindictive, petty garbage that Republicans are using the people's House to put to a vote.

Banning healthcare for trans people cannot be justified by science. Using the Federal Government to strip parents of their right to make decisions for their children is a massive violation.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, jailing doctors and, in some cases, parents for following best medical practices is backward, ignorant, and dangerous.

My colleagues who support this bill are not vested with the power to say that someone does not deserve medically necessary care. This body has a duty to protect the vulnerable. This bill is a radical perversion of that duty and a disgusting abuse of power.

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