House bans sex changes for minors in defense spending package

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act in a 281 to 140 vote. The annual defense bill includes a provision that prohibits sex change surgeries for minors of military members that may cause sterilization.

Among those who voted for the NDAA were 200 Republican representatives and 81 Democrats, and 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans voted against it, the Daily Wire reported. The NDAA authorizes around $900 billion in spending.



Section 708 states that "medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18." Coverage for such treatments will not be allowed under Tricare, the healthcare program for armed services members.

Ahead of the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the provision a "critical and necessary step" in the fight against "radical gender ideology," telling the outlet, "Taxpayer dollars should never be used to support procedures and treatments that could permanently harm and sterilize young people. In this year’s NDAA, we’re taking a critical and necessary step to protect the children of American service members from radical gender ideology and experimental drugs."

He added, "House Republicans will continue to take action to protect America’s kids."

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) wrote, "Today’s NDAA is a step toward restoring our armed forces by rejecting the woke agenda and refocusing on military readiness. This bill bans TRICARE coverage for sex-change surgeries for minors, authorizes National Guard deployments to secure our southern border, and provides a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted personnel."

"While this bill is a net positive, it’s not perfect. Thankfully, we will soon have a new Commander-in-Chief who will take the necessary steps to complete what this bill started, fully restore our military’s focus on strength and readiness, and completely end the woke agenda across the federal government. This bill is just the beginning of the work that needs to be done."

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) called the bill "bigoted against the trans community," saying that "crucial" health treatments were being denied. House Equality Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (D-WI) said, "Big Brother, big government attacks like those just don’t belong in this bill."

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) said Tuesday that he disagreed with the provision as Trump has vowed to resolve issues such as this when he takes office in January. "My preference would have been that we just let the president, on Jan. 20, deal with these, which he’s already indicated he’s going to do," Rogers said, adding that Trump "is going to stop all these social, cultural issues from being embedded as policies. So my point is, I don’t know why this is in the bill when Jan. 20, it’s a moot point."