Text of US SB 4457 (2022)

II 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4457 To protect children from medical malpractice in the form of gender transition procedures. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 22, 2022 Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. DAINES, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HAWLEY, and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To protect children from medical malpractice in the form of gender transition procedures. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Minors 4 from Medical Malpractice Act of 2022’’. 5 SEC. 2. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR A GENDER-TRANSI- 6 TION PROCEDURE PERFORMED ON A MINOR. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—A medical practitioner, in any cir- 8 cumstance described in subsection (c), who performs a 9 gender-transition procedure on an individual who is less 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4457 IS than 18 years of age shall, as described in subsection (b), 1 be liable to the individual if injured (including any phys- 2 ical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms) by 3 such procedure, related treatment, or the aftereffects of 4 the procedure or treatment. 5 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—An individual cov- 6 ered by subsection (a) who receives a gender-transition 7 procedure from a medical practitioner (or a representative, 8 including a legal guardian, on behalf of such individual) 9 may, not later than the day that is 30 years after the date 10 on which the individual turns 18 years of age, bring a civil 11 action against such medical practitioner in a court of com- 12 petent jurisdiction for— 13 (1) declaratory or injunctive relief; 14 (2) compensatory damages; 15 (3) punitive damages; and 16 (4) attorney’s fees and costs. 17 (c) CIRCUMSTANCES.—For the purposes of sub- 18 section (a), the circumstances described in this subsection 19 are that— 20 (1) the medical practitioner or the individual re- 21 ceiving the gender-transition procedure traveled in 22 interstate or foreign commerce, or traveled using a 23 means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of inter- 24 state or foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4457 IS connection with the conduct described in subsection 1 (a); 2 (2) the medical practitioner used a means, 3 channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or 4 foreign commerce in furtherance of or in connection 5 with the conduct described in subsection (a); 6 (3) any payment of any kind was made, directly 7 or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with 8 the conduct described in subsection (a) using any 9 means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of inter- 10 state or foreign commerce or in or affecting inter- 11 state or foreign commerce; 12 (4) the medical practitioner transmitted in 13 interstate or foreign commerce any communication 14 relating to or in furtherance of the conduct de- 15 scribed in subsection (a) using any means, channel, 16 facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign 17 commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign 18 commerce by any means or in any manner, including 19 by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic trans- 20 mission; 21 (5) any instrument, item, substance, or other 22 object that has traveled in interstate or foreign com- 23 merce was used to perform the conduct described in 24 subsection (a); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4457 IS (6) the conduct described in subsection (a) oc- 1 curred within the special maritime and territorial ju- 2 risdiction of the United States, or any territory or 3 possession of the United States; or 4 (7) the conduct described in subsection (a) oth- 5 erwise occurred in or affected interstate or foreign 6 commerce. 7 SEC. 3. PRESERVING FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND MED- 8 ICAL JUDGEMENT FOR MEDICAL PROVIDERS. 9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no provi- 10 sion of Federal law shall require, or be construed to re- 11 quire, a medical practitioner to perform a gender-transi- 12 tion procedure. 13 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR CERTAIN STATES. 14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 15 State that requires medical practitioners to perform any 16 gender-transition procedure on an individual in the State 17 shall be ineligible to receive any Federal funding from the 18 Department of Health and Human Services. 19 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 20 In this Act: 21 (1) BIOLOGICAL SEX.—The term ‘‘biological 22 sex’’ means the genetic classification of an individual 23 as male or female, as reflected in the organization 24 of the body of such individual for a reproductive role 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4457 IS or capacity, such as through sex chromosomes, natu- 1 rally occurring sex hormones, and internal and ex- 2 ternal genitalia present at birth, without regard to 3 the subjective sense of identity of the individual. 4 (2) GENDER-TRANSITION PROCEDURE.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 6 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘gender-transition 7 procedure’’ means— 8 (i) the prescription or administration 9 of puberty-blocking drugs for the purpose 10 of changing the body of an individual so 11 that it conforms to the subjective sense of 12 identity of the individual, in the case such 13 identity is at odds with the individual’s bi- 14 ological sex; 15 (ii) the prescription or administration 16 of cross-sex hormones for the purpose of 17 changing the body of an individual so that 18 it conforms to the subjective sense of iden- 19 tity of the individual, in the case such 20 identity is at odds with the individual’s bi- 21 ological sex; or 22 (iii) a surgery to change the body of 23 an individual so that it conforms to the 24 subjective sense of identity of the indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4457 IS vidual, in the case such identity is at odds 1 with the individual’s biological sex. 2 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘gender-tran- 3 sition procedure’’ does not include— 4 (i) an intervention described in sub- 5 paragraph (A) that is performed on— 6 (I) an individual with biological 7 sex characteristics that are inherently 8 ambiguous, such as those born with 9 46 XX chromosomes with virilization, 10 46 XY chromosomes with 11 undervirilization, or having both ovar- 12 ian and testicular tissue; or 13 (II) an individual with respect to 14 whom a physician has determined 15 through genetic or biochemical testing 16 that the individual does not have nor- 17 mal sex chromosome structure, sex 18 steroid hormone production, or sex 19 steroid hormone action, for a biologi- 20 cal male or biological female; 21 (ii) the treatment of any infection, in- 22 jury, disease, or disorder that has been 23 caused or exacerbated by the performance 24 of an intervention described in subpara- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4457 IS graph (A) without regard to whether the 1 intervention was performed in accordance 2 with State or Federal law or whether the 3 intervention is covered by the private right 4 of action under section 2; or 5 (iii) any procedure undertaken be- 6 cause the individual suffers from a physical 7 disorder, physical injury, or physical illness 8 that would, as certified by a physician, 9 place the individual in imminent danger of 10 death or impairment of major bodily func- 11 tion unless the procedure is performed. 12 (3) MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.—The term ‘‘med- 13 ical practitioner’’ means a person who is licensed, 14 certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of a 15 State to administer health care in the ordinary 16 course of the practice of the person’s profession. 17 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 18 This Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 19 of this Act. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4457.IS S4457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS