WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed bill on Wednesday to ban gender-affirming care for minors. The vote was tight at 216-211. If passed by the Senate, the bill would make some medical procedures for transgender children federal crimes. The bill, led by Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, calls these procedures “genital or bodily mutilation of a minor.” It targets surgeries and drug treatments that change a minor’s body to match a gender different from their biological sex. The bill also criminalizes female genital mutilation. It bans puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children. Anyone who performs or helps with these treatments could face up to 10 years in prison and fines. Greene said, “This important bill...will criminalize gender-affirming care on minors, not adults, on minors who have not yet grown up to make adult decisions.” She added it reflects President Trump’s 2024 campaign promises. Trump has strongly opposed transgender policies, rolling back protections last year and limiting transgender military service and school sports. Democratic lawmaker Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, criticized the bill. She said, “All Republican politicians care about is making the rich richer and attacking trans people.” Transgender rights group Advocates for Trans Equality said the bill tries to take away freedoms from transgender and intersex people. They also stressed the bill still allows surgeries on intersex children and called that “non-consensual mutilation.” A4TE health analyst Sinead Murano-Kinney said, “The bill is not about protecting children -- it is about enforcing outdated ideas of sex and gender through coercion and violence.” The bill now awaits a Senate vote, where its future is unclear.