I recently had the privilege of attending a House Judiciary Markup, where the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” passed through the House Judiciary Committee. It was a surreal experience witnessing our nation’s leaders discuss such a significant issue right before my eyes.
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia 14th), proposes federal regulations on gender-affirming care defined as “performing surgery, administering medication, or performing other procedures for the purpose of changing the body of an individual to correspond to a sex that differs from the individual’s biological sex.”
This bill does three things:
- It establishes that providing gender-affirming care to minors constitutes a felony.
- It prohibits federal funds from financing gender-affirming care.
- It prohibits higher education institutions from providing education regarding gender-affirming care.
Listening to the conversation between both sides of the aisle was fascinating. Democrats argued the Republican-sponsored bill was inconsistent with the reasoning that parents make better decisions for their children than the federal government does. Multiple Democratic representatives shared stories of families who had contacted them with concerns about their children being unable to receive transgender surgery if the bill were to become law.
Throughout the duration of the markup, comments from the left side of the aisle consistently echoed the same sentiment: Republicans do not trust parents and doctors to make proper medical decisions for their children.
The conservative answer to this accusation was summed up best by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-California 5th), who said, “I’ve been pondering the question that the gentlelady from Washington posed, ‘What would we not do for our children?’ That’s an important question. Well, for one thing, we would not mutilate them.”
The Congressman went on to explain that, although parents should be allowed to make many decisions for their children, there has always been a point when society must intervene for the safety of the child. Congressman McClintock referenced such activities as starving or beating a child to death as examples of potential parental choices that should be clearly delineated as illegal and punishable by law.
The “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” is not an attack on the parents’ right to make informed medical decisions for their family. Rather, it is an assertion of a child’s right to remain free from life-altering, physical mutilation at the hands of adults. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming At-large) detailed the specific surgical procedures involved in attempting to change the gender of an individual, causing Democrat Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (Maryland 8th) to note that the conversation made him uncomfortable. Ranking Member Raskin’s response is not surprising. A candid list of the procedures involved in the intentional genital mutilation of children should make any reasonable person squirm. It makes sense that the representatives opposed to this bill preferred to hide under the ever-illusive term “gender-affirming care,” rather than detailing the specific physical procedures they advocated to allow.
Let’s not forget the reasonable nature of this act. It does not denote transgender surgeries as illegal for adults. It does not prohibit so-called “transgender” youth from receiving counseling services or mental care of any kind. It merely makes it illegal to attempt to physically change the gender of a minor using surgery, medicine, or other physical procedures.
As I listened to the conversation about the bill, I could not help but consider Ephesians 4, where Paul speaks of those who are “darkened in their understanding,” “callous,” and “greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Sitting in a room of adults that were intent on legalizing child genital mutilation was heartbreaking.
As Christians, we are called to leave the death, darkness, and destruction of this world for the life, light, and purpose of Christ. In the same passage, Paul exhorts Christians to “no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” but rather “having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor.”
Don’t be afraid to speak the truth about so-called gender-affirming care in your community. Our children deserve better than mutilation. Don’t let your voice be the missing one in the fight.
As we wait for the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” to pass through the Rules Committee and arrive on the House floor for a final vote, join us in encouraging our leaders to support this life-saving legislation. Be intentional to make your churches and local communities aware of this bill, inviting them into prayer and action. As the Lord allows, we will continue working and praying until these protections for children become the law of the land in our beautiful United States of America.
