House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says Congress will not allow U.S. tax dollars to be used for puberty blockers or sex-change surgeries for transgender children of military service members, according to The Daily Wire. Section 708 of the House’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) stipulates 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.”
Military members and their families typically receive health care through TRICARE, the health care program for the military.
In 2022, the American Public Health Association completed an analysis of transgender youth in military families. It found that “at least 2,500 children actively sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities” in 2017. Of those, 900 received hormones.
Speaker Johnson told The Daily Wire, “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.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes the proposed ban on gender-affirming medical care. Mike Zamore, ACLU’s national director of policy and government affairs, said, “Nobody should have to choose between serving the country and ensuring their child has the health care they need to live and thrive. Members of Congress must vote against the defense bill because of the inclusion of this deeply harmful, unconstitutional provision.”
It remains unclear whether Democrats will support the $895 billion NDAA. The NDAA includes a 14.5% pay raise for junior troops.
