Watchdog group says Democrats mislead on GOP gender transition funding ban
House Republicans recently passed reconciliation language that would ban taxpayer funds from being used to pay for sex change treatments. This move has sparked opposition from Democrats who are using language to drum up opposition that conservative watchdog group the American Principles Project says is meant to confuse people.
The House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes provisions that prohibit federal Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding from being spent on “gender transition procedures for any age” in all 50 states. In response, Democrats and left-wing groups have begun claiming that the GOP’s spending package seeks to eliminate “medically-necessary care.”
However, according to APP President Terry Schilling, this claim is false and is an effort to combat the prevailing notion among Americans that taxpayer funds should not be paying for transgender procedures. “They’re deliberately obfuscating here, and it’s because they don’t have any good arguments,” Schilling told Fox News Digital. “We shouldn’t be paying for any cosmetic sex change procedures with our tax dollars, and that’s what we’re cutting here.”
Schilling emphasized that the language being used by Democrats is intentionally misleading and is meant to make it sound like Republicans are trying to ban normal healthcare. He stated that the GOP’s goal is to prevent taxpayer funds from being used for procedures that are not medically necessary.
The Human Rights Campaign, a pro-trans group, has argued that “gender-affirming care” is considered best practice and evidence-based by major medical associations in the country. They claim that studies have shown it significantly improves mental health outcomes for transgender youth.
However, Schilling pointed to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines, which state that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating individuals with gender dysphoria. He argued that these treatments are not medically necessary and are considered cosmetic by their own standards.
In response to the backlash, Schilling said that Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly agree that taxpayer funds should not support individuals’ gender transitions. He stated that there is a consensus that procedures should be banned for anyone under 18, and individuals over 18 should pay for it themselves.
Overall, the debate over taxpayer funding for gender transition procedures continues to divide lawmakers and advocacy groups. Republicans argue that they are trying to cut unnecessary expenses, while Democrats claim that they are taking away essential healthcare services. The controversy surrounding this issue is likely to persist as the reconciliation process moves forward.
