Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB635

Introduced
3/2/23  

Caption

Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2023

Impact

The implications of SB635 extend to state laws regarding medical malpractice and the rights of minors in healthcare decisions. Should this bill be enacted, it would create significant legal precedents regarding how gender transition procedures are handled in medical practices across states. Additionally, it would prevent any state mandating such procedures from receiving federal funding, thereby influencing state-level policies about gender transition healthcare for minors.

Summary

SB635, titled the 'Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2023', seeks to address the management of gender transition procedures performed on minors. The bill establishes that medical practitioners who perform these procedures may be held liable for any injury caused to minors, allowing individuals or their representatives to initiate civil legal actions up to 30 years after the individual turns 18. This includes claims for compensatory damages, punitive damages, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief. The bill emphasizes parental involvement and protection of minors against potential malpractice related to gender transition.

Contention

Debate around SB635 has been contentious, focusing on issues of medical ethics, parental rights, and the autonomy of minors regarding their health decisions. Proponents argue that the bill is essential for protecting vulnerable children from potential harms associated with irreversible medical procedures. Opponents contend that it could hinder access to necessary healthcare and restrict medical professionals' rights to provide care based on established medical standards. The nuances of the definitions of gender transition procedures within the bill further spark debates on biological sex versus gender identity in health care contexts.

Companion Bills

US HB1276

Related Protect Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2023

Similar Bills

IN SB0480

Gender transition procedures for minors.

IA SF110

A bill for an act relating to gender-transition procedures, and including effective date provisions.

IN HB1444

Gender transition procedures for minors.

US SB209

Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2025This bill makes a medical practitioner who performs a gender-transition procedure on an individual who is less than 18 years of age liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms from the procedure for 30 years after the individual turns 18.Additionally, if a state requires medical practitioners to perform gender-transition procedures, that state shall be ineligible for federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.Under the bill, gender-transition procedures generally include certain surgeries or hormone therapies that change the body of an individual to correspond to a sex that is discordant with the individual's biological sex. They exclude, however, interventions to treat (1) individuals who either have ambiguous external biological sex characteristics or lack a normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action; (2) infections, injuries, diseases, or disorders caused by a gender-transition procedure; or (3) a physical disorder, injury, or illness that places an individual in imminent danger of death or impairment of a major bodily function.

US HB1276

Protect Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2023

US HB653

Protect Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2025This bill makes a medical practitioner who performs a gender-transition procedure on an individual who is less than 18 years of age liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms from the procedure for 30 years after the individual turns 18.Additionally, if a state requires medical practitioners to perform gender-transition procedures, that state shall be ineligible for federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.Under the bill, gender-transition procedures generally include certain surgeries or hormone therapies that change the body of an individual to correspond to a sex that is discordant with the individual's biological sex. They exclude, however, interventions to treat (1) individuals who either have ambiguous external biological sex characteristics or lack a normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action; (2) infections, injuries, diseases, or disorders caused by a gender-transition procedure; or (3) a physical disorder, injury, or illness that places an individual in imminent danger of death or impairment of a major bodily function.

VA HB8

Medical Ethics Defense Act; established.

VA SB153

Medical Ethics Defense Act; established.