H.R. 5483

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To prohibit health care professionals, hospitals, or clinics from participating in the chemical or surgical mutilation of a child and to provide 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.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · September 18, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Onder · Committee: Committee on Energy and Commerce

Table of contents

• H.R. 5483
  • SEC. 1. Short title
  • SEC. 2. Definitions
  • SEC. 3. Prohibition on chemical or surgical mutilation
  • SEC. 4. Private right of action
  • SEC. 5. Rules of construction
  • SEC. 6. Statute of limitations
  • SEC. 7. Severability

SEC. 1. Short title

• This Act may be cited as the Chloe Cole Act.

SEC. 2. Definitions

• In this Act:
  • The term child means an individual under 18 years of age.
  • The term detransition treatment means any treatment, including a mental health treatment, medical intervention, or surgery, that does either or both of the following:
  • The term health care professional means a person, including a physician, who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of a State to administer health care in the ordinary course of the practice of his or her profession or performing such acts which require such licensure.
  • The term mental health professional means a person who is licensed to diagnose and treat mental health conditions in a State.
  • The term , with respect to acts constituting chemical or surgical mutilation as defined in paragraph (1), means directly engaging in the planning, authorization, prescription, administration, or performance of any such act, including any of the following: participate
  • The term sex means a person's immutable biological classification, determined at the moment of conception, as either male or female, as follows:

SEC. 3. Prohibition on chemical or surgical mutilation

• (a) In general
  • No health care professional, hospital, or clinic shall, in a circumstance described in subsection (b), participate in the chemical or surgical mutilation of a child, and a health care professional, hospital, or clinic may commence participation in a treatment that qualifies as an exception specified in clauses (i) through (iv) of section 2(1)(B) only after determining that clear and convincing evidence supports a determination that the treatment so qualifies.
• (b) Circumstances described
  • The circumstances described in this subsection are that—
    • the defendant or child traveled in interstate or foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in connection with the participation in the chemical or surgical mutilation;
    • the defendant used a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in furtherance of or in connection with the participation in the chemical or surgical mutilation;
    • any payment of any kind was made, directly or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the participation in the chemical or surgical mutilation using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce;
    • the defendant transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of the participation in the chemical or surgical mutilation using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means or in any manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic transmission;
    • any instrument, item, substance, or other object that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to perform the chemical or surgical mutilation;
    • the chemical or surgical mutilation occurred within the District of Columbia, the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or possession of the United States; or
    • the chemical or surgical mutilation otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.

SEC. 4. Private right of action

• (a) In general
  • An individual subjected as a child to chemical or surgical mutilation prohibited by section 3, or the parents or legal guardians of such individual, may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States for damages against any health care professional, hospital, or clinic, who participates in the chemical or surgical mutilation of that child. Such a cause of action shall be available regardless of whether the alleged chemical or surgical mutilation occurred before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
  • In general
• (b) Damages
  • Damages available pursuant to such an action may include—
    • compensatory damages, including all economic damages associated with undoing, correcting, or ameliorating the effects or results of any chemical or surgical mutilation procedures;
    • non-economic damages for emotional distress and pain and suffering; and
    • punitive damages, if the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant against whom punitive damages are sought acted maliciously, intentionally, fraudulently, or recklessly.
• (c) Strict liability
  • Any health care professional, hospital, or clinic whose participation in the chemical or surgical mutilation of a child after the date of enactment of this Act is proven by clear and convincing evidence shall be strictly liable for damages for any such act of mutilation. If a treatment qualifies under an exception specified in clauses (i) through (iv) of section 2(1)(B), and that is raised as an affirmative defense to a violation of this Act, the health care professional, hospital, or clinic shall bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that such exception applies.

SEC. 5. Rules of construction

• In this Act:
  • No private right of action is established based on counseling, referrals to mental health professionals, or discussions of treatment options, including counseling, referrals, or options available upon reaching adulthood, or in circumstances not described in section 3(b), provided by health care professionals, or mental health professionals, provided that such actions do not constitute participation in chemical or surgical mutilation, as defined in section 2.
  • No liability for a health care professional under these provisions may be waived.
  • Any ambiguities shall be resolved against any party found to have engaged in participation, as defined in section 2(6), in the chemical or surgical mutilation of a child.
  • In any cases in which chemical or surgical mutilation of a child is shown to have occurred before the date of enactment of this Act, there is limited deference to prevailing standards of care to the extent that such standards contradict the intent of this Act and it is shown that the health care professional knew or should have known that such standards of care were in serious, scientific, and medical dispute at the time of the chemical or surgical mutilation.
  • Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a health care professional or mental health professional from providing information about all available treatment options, discussing risks and benefits, or expressing professional medical opinions, so long as such actions do not constitute participation in chemical or surgical mutilation.

SEC. 6. Statute of limitations

• An action under section 4 may be brought within 25 years from the date of the eighteenth birthday of an individual subjected to chemical or surgical mutilation as a child or within 4 years from the time the cost of a detransition treatment is incurred, whichever date is later.

SEC. 7. Severability

• If any provision of this Act, or the application of such a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the application of the provision held to be unconstitutional to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.