‘Chloe Cole Act’ to Protect Minors From ‘Trans’ Mutilation Reintroduced in Congress

by Jeff Johnston | February 24, 2026 | Government Updates Sexuality

The Chloe Cole Act, which would prohibit health care professionals from the chemical and surgical mutilation of children through “transgender” medical interventions, was reintroduced in Congress yesterday. 

The legislation states, “No health care professional, hospital, or clinic shall … participate in the chemical or surgical mutilation of a child” for the purpose of “halting the natural development of the individual’s body” or “changing the individual’s body to no longer correspond to the individual’s sex.” 

Missouri Rep. Bob Onder announced the reintroduction in a press release, saying: 

As a member of Congress, a physician, a parent, and a concerned American, I am committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of our nation’s children. That is why I am proud to reintroduce the Chloe Cole Act of 2026.

The bill specifically prohibits the use of puberty blockers to delay a child’s normal progression of puberty, and the use of sex hormones and surgeries to change “the individual’s external appearance or biological functions, to no longer correspond to the individual’s sex.” 

It also gives those damaged by these procedures the right to bring a lawsuit “for damages against any health care professional, hospital, or clinic, who participates in the covered intervention on that child.”

The congressman explained the urgent need to pass this legislation: 

The importance of this legislation is non-negotiable. This is a landmark bill that will permanently end one of the most dangerous and barbaric medical practices in modern history.

Chloe Cole, who has fought to protect children from chemical and surgical procedures that damaged her body, announced on X that Onder had invited her to attend President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address tonight. She also thanked Onder for reintroducing the measure. 

Last September, Onder and Senator Marsha Blackburn first introduced the Act, also called The Victims of Chemical or Surgical Mutilation. But beyond being assigned to committees, the bill has not moved forward in either chamber.

Cole explained the need to move the bill forward in the press release, saying: 

While we’ve made significant strides in raising awareness and enacting protections in recent years, the fight is far from over. Too many children remain at risk of irreversible harm from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures pushed on them before they can fully understand the consequences. 
Reintroducing this bill is a vital step in our mission to ensure that no minor in America ever endures the kind of lasting, irreparable damage I experienced. We must finish what we’ve started and safeguard the next generation from these experimental and barbaric treatments.

Transgender chemical and surgical procedures have life-long, damaging effects on children’s — and adults’ — minds and bodies. 

When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) evaluated the evidence for how best to treat children and adolescents with “gender dysphoria,” the agency listed the harms from transgender medical procedures, saying: 

The “gender-affirming” model of care includes irreversible endocrine and surgical interventions on minors with no physical pathology. 
These interventions carry risk of significant harms including infertility/sterility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, adverse cognitive impacts, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgical complications, and regret, and there has been inadequate research into the frequency and severity of these harms. 
Meanwhile, systematic reviews of the evidence have revealed deep uncertainty about the purported benefits of these interventions.

Onder stated that the Act came about because of Trump’s January 2025 executive order titled, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” 

The executive order directed the attorney general of the United States, in consultation with Congress, to “work to draft, propose, and promote legislation to enact a private right of action for children and the parents of children whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals practicing chemical and surgical mutilation, which should include a lengthy statute of limitations.”

We pray that Congress will follow Chloe Cole’s and Rep. Onder’s lead and act quickly to protect children from these detrimental and mutilating procedures. 

To learn more about Chloe Cole’s story, you can watch the documentary Truth Rising.

Focus on the Family exists to help families, and that includes help navigating the issues of homosexuality and transgenderism. Focus offers a free, one-time counseling consultation with a licensed or pastoral counselor. To request a consultation, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) or fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.

Related articles and resources:

Chloe Cole: Gender Reassignment Surgery Regret

Chloe Cole: Good News in the Fight Against Transgender Mutilation of Children 

HHS Finalizes Report Finding Sex-Rejecting Procedures Harm Minors

HHS Releases Report on Harms of ‘Transgender’ Medical Interventions for Minors

Key Takeaways from Supreme Court Case on ‘Transgender’ Interventions

Pam Bondi Directs DOJ Attorneys to Investigate Transgender Procedures for Minors

President Trump Signs Order Protecting Children From Transgender Medical Interventions

Responding to a Transgender-Identified Family Member

Transgender Resources

Understanding ‘Transgenderism’

The WPATH Files Exposes ‘Surgical and Hormonal Experiments on Children’

The WPATH Files – Transgender Interventions Are ‘Unethical Medical Experiments’