HR 8573
STOP Act
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Sign in to record your position, submit testimony, or contact your legislator.
Sign in to take action- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Bill overview
The Safeguarding The Overall Protection of Minors Act (STOP Act) prohibits gender transition procedures on minors and authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose civil penalties on individuals who perform such procedures. The bill defines key terms related to gender transition, including ‘gender transition procedure,’ and outlines circumstances under which such procedures can be performed, primarily focusing on individuals with diagnosed disorders of sex development. It also establishes a grant program to support individuals seeking to reverse gender transition procedures and prohibits funding for gender transition procedures themselves. The act aims to restrict gender transition interventions for minors and provide resources for those seeking to discontinue them.
Key provisions
- Prohibits gender transition procedures on minors.
- Authorizes civil monetary penalties for individuals performing gender transition procedures on minors.
- Defines key terms such as ‘caretaker,’ ‘detransition treatment,’ ‘gender transition,’ and ‘gender transition procedure.’
- Establishes a grant program to provide information and referrals for individuals seeking to reverse gender transition procedures.
- Excludes certain gender transition procedures, such as those for individuals with diagnosed disorders of sex development, and those necessary for treating medical conditions.
- Creates a private right of action for individuals harmed by gender transition procedures performed on minors.
- Prohibits the use of grant funds for gender transition procedures or abortions (with limited exceptions).
- Establishes requirements for grant recipients, including providing accurate information and referrals.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Arguments in favor
Reasons to support this legislation.
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
Reasons to oppose this legislation.
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yoursRead the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
119th CONGRESS — 2d Session
H. R. 8573
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To prohibit gender transition procedures on minors, to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose civil penalties on persons who perform gender transition procedures on minors, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding The Overall Protection of Minors Act STOP Act
or the
.
In this Act:
The term caretaker means an adult, who is not a parent of a child, with whom a child resides and who provides that child with the care, maintenance, and supervision consistent with the duties and responsibilities of a parent of the child.
The term detransition treatment means any treatment, including mental health services, medical intervention, or surgery, that does any of the following:
Stops or reverses the effects of a gender transition procedure.
Helps an individual cope with the effects of a prior gender transition procedure.
The term female, when used to refer to a natural person, means an individual who naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization.
The term gender transition means the process, which may be accompanied with social, legal, or physical changes—
intentionally transforms the individual’s physical appearance to confirm the individual’s physical appearance to be of the alternate sex; or
The term gender transition procedure means any hormonal, pharmaceutical, or surgical intervention for the purpose of gender transition, including—
gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists or other puberty-blocking or suppressing drugs to stop or delay normally timed puberty;
testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, androgen blockers, or other sex hormones to an individual at doses that are supraphysiologic to what would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy individual of the same age and sex;
procedures that attempt to transform an individual’s physical appearance to confirm the individual's physical appearance to be of the alternate sex, or that alter or remove sexual organs as part of chemical or surgical mutilation;
castration;
orchiectomy;
scrotoplasty;
implantation of erection or testicular prostheses;
vasectomy;
hysterectomy;
oophorectomy;
ovariectomy;
reconstruction of the fixed part of the urethra with or without a metoidioplasty or a phalloplasty;
metoidioplasty;
penectomy;
phalloplasty;
vaginoplasty;
clitoroplasty;
vaginectomy;
vulvoplasty;
reduction thyrochondroplasty;
chondrolaryngoplasty;
mastectomy;
tubal ligation;
sterilization;
any plastic, cosmetic, or aesthetic surgery that feminizes or masculinizes the facial or other physiological features of an individual;
any placement of chest implants to create feminine breasts;
any placement of fat or artificial implants in the gluteal region;
augmentation mammoplasty;
liposuction;
lipofilling;
voice surgery;
hair reconstruction;
pectoral implants; and
the removal of any otherwise healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue.
The term gender transition procedure does not include the following when furnished to an individual by a health care provider with the consent of such individual or, if applicable, such individual’s parents or legal guardian:
Services to individuals who have been diagnosed with a disorder of sex development by a licensed health care provider operating within their scope of practice, including an individual with external sex characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous, such as an individual born with 46 XX chromosomes with virilization, an individual born with 46 XY chromosomes with undervirilization, or an individual born having both ovarian and testicular tissue.
Services provided when a health care professional has otherwise diagnosed a disorder of sexual development in which the health care professional has determined through genetic or biochemical testing that the individual does not have normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action for a healthy individual of the same sex and age.
The treatment of any infection, injury, disease, or disorder that has been caused by or exacerbated by the performance of gender transition procedures, whether or not the gender transition procedure was performed in accordance with State and Federal law or whether or not funding for the gender transition procedure is permissible under this section.
Any procedure undertaken because the individual suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness (but not mental, behavioral, or emotional distress or a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder) that would, as certified by a health care professional, place the individual in imminent danger of death or impairment of major bodily function, unless the procedure is performed, which may include the following:
Traumatic bodily injuries (such as fractures, organ rupture, or penetrating trauma).
Congenital structural anomalies of major organs or systems, including the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, hepatic, neurological, or musculoskeletal systems.
Acute illnesses with a high probability of imminent mortality.
Any procedure to restore or reconstruct the body of the individual in order to correspond to the individual’s sex after one or more previous gender transition procedures, which may include the removal of a pseudo phallus or breast augmentation.
Puberty suppression or blocking prescription drugs for the purpose of normalizing puberty for a minor experiencing precocious puberty.
Male circumcision.
The term male, when used to refer to a natural person, means an individual who naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
The term minor means an individual under the age of 18.
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The term sex, when referring to a natural person’s sex, means the person’s immutable biological classification as either male or female, as biologically determined and defined by this section.
No person may, in any circumstance described in paragraph (2), knowingly perform, attempt to perform, conspire to perform, or otherwise aid or abet the performance of any gender transition procedure on a minor.
A circumstance referred to in paragraph (1) is any of the following:
The person, or the minor on whom the gender transition procedure was performed, attempted to be performed, or conspired to be performed or on whom the performance of any gender transition procedure was aided or abetted, traveled in interstate or foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in paragraph (1).
The person, or the minor on whom the gender transition procedure was performed, attempted to be performed, or conspired to be performed or on whom the performance of any gender transition procedure was aided or abetted, used a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in paragraph (1).
A payment of any kind was made, directly or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in paragraph (1), using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in interstate or foreign commerce.
The person, or the minor on whom the gender transition procedure was performed, attempted to be performed, or conspired to be performed or on whom the performance of any gender transition procedure was aided or abetted, transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of the conduct described in paragraph (1) using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in interstate or foreign commerce by any means or in manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic transmission.
Any instrument, item, substance, or other object that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to perform the conduct described in paragraph (1).
The conduct described in paragraph (1) occurred within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or any territory or possession of the United States.
The conduct described in paragraph (1) otherwise occurred in interstate or foreign commerce.
For purposes of paragraph (1), a person acts knowingly when—
the person has actual knowledge of the facts giving rise to the violation of the prohibition described in paragraph (1); or
a reasonable person acting in the circumstances and exercising reasonable care would have that knowledge.
by an employee acting in the scope of their employment for an employer shall also be considered a violation of such paragraph by such employer; or
by any other individual who is engaged by a person for the performance of labor or services for remuneration and who is acting in the scope of their performance of such labor or services for such person shall also be considered a violation of such paragraph by such person.
In the case of a violation that is described in subparagraph (A)(i), the employee and the employer described in such subparagraph shall be jointly and severally liable for any civil penalty under subsection (b) and any private right of action under subsection (c).
In the case of a violation that is described in subparagraph (A)(ii), the individual and person described in such subparagraph shall be jointly and severally liable for any civil penalty under subsection (b) and any private right of action under subsection (c).
The Secretary may impose a civil monetary penalty on any person upon making a determination, after written notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that the person has violated a requirement of subsection (a)(1).
The amount of a civil monetary penalty under paragraph (1) shall be not less than $100,000 for each violation.
In determining the amount of a civil monetary penalty under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider—
the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation; and
with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior violations, and any effect on the ability to continue to do business.
The Secretary may compromise the amount of a civil monetary penalty imposed under this subsection before referral to the Attorney General under subparagraph (A), on the condition that such amount shall be not less than $100,000.
It shall not be a defense in a hearing under this subsection that gender transition procedures are required as a matter of standard practice.
No person on whom a gender transition procedure is performed, attempted to be performed, or conspired to be performed or on whom the performance of any gender transition procedure was aided or abetted in violation of subsection (a)(1), and no parent, guardian, or caretaker of such a person, may be held liable for a civil monetary penalty under this subsection.
Amounts collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the fund established under subparagraph (B).
Victims of Gender Transition Procedures Compensation Fund, which shall consist of amounts deposited in the fund pursuant to subparagraph (A).
Amounts in the fund established under clause (i) shall be made available for expenditure for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation for expenditure by the Secretary to carry out section 4.
An individual on whom a gender transition procedure is performed in violation of subsection (a)(1), or the parent, guardian, or caretaker of such an individual if such individual is a minor, may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States against any person in violation of subsection (a)(1) for damages, including damages described in paragraph (3).
Damages referred to in paragraph (1) include—
compensatory damages, including all economic damages associated with undoing, correcting, or ameliorating the effects or results of any gender transition procedure;
non-economic damages for emotional distress and pain and suffering; and
punitive damages, if the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant against whom punitive damages are sought acted maliciously, intentionally, fraudulently, or recklessly.
The Secretary may impose a civil penalty on any person who obstructs or prevents the Secretary from carrying out an investigation into an alleged violation of subsection (a)(1).
In this subsection, the term obstruct means to take an action that was known, or reasonably should have been known, to prevent, hinder, or impede an investigation.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impose any liability whatsoever on a minor who is the individual on whom a gender transition procedure is performed, attempted to be performed, or conspired to be performed or on whom the performance of any gender transition procedure was aided or abetted.
Nothing in this Act—
establishes a private right of action based on counseling, referrals to mental health professionals, or discussions of treatment options (including counseling, referrals, or options available upon reaching adulthood) provided by health care professionals or mental health professionals or against health care professionals or mental health professionals based on circumstances not described in subsection (a)(2), on the condition that such actions do not constitute participation in a gender transition procedure;
waives liability for a health care professional.
An action under subsection (c) may be brought within 25 years from the date of the eighteenth birthday of an individual on whom a gender transition procedure is performed as a minor or within 4 years from the time the cost of a detransition treatment is incurred, whichever date is later.
The purpose of this section is to support, encourage, and assist individuals in their efforts to reverse gender transition procedures.
The Secretary shall establish a grant program under which the Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to carry out the activities described in subsection (d).
To be eligible for a grant under this section, an entity—
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may require, including an assurance that such entity will—
submit to the Secretary such reports of deidentified data, information, and metrics as the Secretary may require to assess the entity’s performance in carrying out activities under the grant and ensure the entity is in compliance with the terms and conditions of such grant;
not charge individuals for services provided through the grant; and
provide each individual counseled through the grant with accurate information on the appropriate medical procedures to reverse gender transition procedures; and
shall agree to have a privacy policy and procedures in place to ensure that—
the name, address, telephone number, or any other information that might identify any individual seeking services supported through the grant is not made public or shared with any other entity without the written consent of the individual; and
the grantee adheres to requirements comparable to those applicable under the HIPAA privacy regulation (as defined in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–9(b)(3))) to covered entities (as defined for purposes of such regulation).
An entity shall be ineligible to receive a grant under this section if the entity or any affiliate, subsidiary, successor, or clinic thereof—
performs, induces, refers for, or counsels in favor of gender transition procedures;
performs, induces, refers for, or counsels in favor of an abortion, except—
if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or
in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed; or
provides financial support to any other entity that conducts any activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
For the purpose described in subsection (a), an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to provide to individuals who are exploring detransition information on, and referral to, 1 or more of the following services:
Medical advice and care to reverse a gender transition procedure.
Education and employment assistance, including services that support the continuation and completion of high school.
Voluntary mental health and substance use disorder services.
For the purpose described in subsection (a), in addition to using grant funds under this section as described in paragraph (1), an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section may use the grant funds for the direct provision of one or more services described in paragraph (1).
None of the funds made available under this section shall be used for—
payment for an abortion, except—
requiring any person to perform, or facilitate in any way the performance of, any abortion.
In selecting the recipients of grants under this section, the Secretary shall consider each applicant’s demonstrated capacity in providing services to assist individuals who are exploring and seeking medical advice in their efforts to reverse gender transition procedures.
The Secretary shall—
monitor and review each program funded through a grant under this section to ensure that the grantee carefully adheres to—
the purpose described in subsection (a); and
the requirements of this section; and
cease to fund a program under this section if the grantee fails to adhere to such purpose and requirements.