Dems introduce bill to combat GOP’s “dangerous” bans on gender-affirming care

[Jessica_Rose]

Dems introduce bill to combat GOP's "dangerous" bans on gender-affirming care

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/03/dems-introduce-bill-to-combat-gops-dangerous-bans-on-gender-affirming-care/

By Daniel Villarreal (31 March 2025)

Out Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) has introduced The Transgender Health Care Access Act, a bill that directs the Secretary of Health to award three-year grants to medical schools, hospitals, clinics, or centers that research and teach about gender-affirming care.

Balint introduced the legislation on the Trans Day of Visibility: it has nearly 30 Democratic co-sponsors, and seeks to address the lack of education about gender-affirming medical care that can block trans individuals from receiving necessary treatment.

While the legislation is unlikely to pass through the Republican-led Congress, it works against the current presidential administration's executive orders seeking to defund institutions that teach about and provide gender-affirming care.

"As Republicans use their power to take away health care and continue to attack and dehumanize trans folks, I'm not standing down. That's why I'm introducing this bill to expand access and train more providers," Balint said in a statement, according to The Hill.

"Republicans are obsessed with attacking trans people. It's dangerous. Over and over again, they use messages designed to get Americans to fear one another and to divide us," Balint continued in her statement. "But I want queer and trans Americans to know you have fighters and allies in Congress."