Chloe Cole Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Chloe Cole Act creates a federal civil action for a person subjected before age 18 to a covered intervention, or that person's parents or legal guardians, against a healthcare professional, hospital, or clinic that participated. Participation includes planning, authorizing, prescribing, administering, performing, supervising, or knowingly coordinating puberty blockers, sex hormones, or surgery with the specified intent to make development, appearance, or biological function no longer correspond to the bill's definition of sex.
The action applies whether the intervention occurred before, on, or after enactment. For post-enactment interventions, a provider or institution whose participation is proven by clear and convincing evidence is strictly liable for damages. Available recovery includes economic detransition costs, emotional-distress and pain-and-suffering damages, and punitive damages when malicious, intentional, fraudulent, or reckless conduct is proven by clear and convincing evidence.
The bill excludes medically necessary treatment for specified verifiable disorders of sexual development, treatment of harm caused or worsened by a covered intervention, and interventions for diagnosed bodily conditions such as traumatic injury, congenital major-organ anomalies, or acute life-threatening illness. When a defendant raises an exception, the defendant must prove it by clear and convincing evidence.
Federal jurisdiction depends on one of several broad interstate-commerce connections, including travel, communications, payments, instruments, items, or conduct affecting commerce, or an intervention in federal territorial jurisdiction. Provider liability cannot be waived, ambiguities are resolved against a party found to have participated, and pre-enactment standards of care receive limited deference when seriously disputed and the provider knew or should have known of the dispute. Discussing options, risks, benefits, or medical opinions remains permitted unless the conduct itself constitutes participation.
A claim may be filed within 25 years after the patient's eighteenth birthday, effectively through age 43, or within four years after a detransition-treatment cost is incurred, whichever is later. The latter trigger can extend exposure beyond age 43. The bill is severable. It does not create a criminal offense, expressly ban patient travel, impose direct liability on the minor, or provide a federal payment for detransition care.
Who Benefits and How
Former minor patients and their parents gain a long-lived federal cause of action, strict liability for post-enactment participation, broad damages, favorable ambiguity rules, and shifted exception burdens. Detransition providers and plaintiff lawyers may gain demand.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Clinicians, hospitals, clinics, supervisors, and coordinators face retroactive claims, prospective strict liability, punitive exposure, and long record-retention needs. Liability insurers and health systems face higher defense and coverage costs. Transgender minors and families may lose access even to counseling or care near the statutory boundary because providers can avoid risk by declining treatment.
Key Provisions
- Defines covered interventions by purpose and treatment type.
- Covers puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery.
- Exempts specified disorders and other bodily conditions.
- Creates a federal private right of action.
- Extends the action to pre-enactment interventions.
- Establishes prospective strict liability.
- Requires clear and convincing proof of participation.
- Authorizes economic and noneconomic damages.
- Authorizes punitive damages for heightened misconduct.
- Shifts exception proof to defendants.
- Requires an interstate-commerce connection.
- Prohibits waiver of provider liability.
- Limits reliance on disputed standards of care.
- Protects informational discussion that is not participation.
- Extends claims through age 43 or later.
- Provides severability.
- Creates no criminal offense or direct treatment subsidy.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a retroactive federal damages action against healthcare professionals and institutions participating in specified gender-transition interventions performed on minors, imposes prospective strict liability under a clear-and-convincing proof standard, shifts exception burdens to defendants, restricts waiver and defenses, and allows claims until age 43 or later after detransition costs.
Key Policy Areas
Gender-Affirming Healthcare, Medical Malpractice, Private Civil Liability, Pediatric Healthcare, Federal Courts
Primary Purpose
Creates a retroactive federal damages action against healthcare professionals and institutions participating in specified gender-transition interventions performed on minors, imposes prospective strict liability under a clear-and-convincing proof standard, shifts exception burdens to defendants, restricts waiver and defenses, and allows claims until age 43 or later after detransition costs.
Policy Domains
Sections 2 through 6 definitions, retroactive private action, damages, prospective strict liability, exception burden, commerce nexus, waiver and construction rules, informational safe harbor, long limitations period, and severability
Identified Gains
- Former minor patients bringing federal claims
- Parents bringing covered-intervention claims
- Legal guardians bringing covered-intervention claims
- Detransition healthcare providers
- Plaintiff attorneys handling covered claims
- Patients receiving treatment for intervention complications
Identified Costs
- Healthcare professionals providing covered interventions
- Hospitals providing covered interventions
- Clinics providing covered interventions
- Supervising clinicians authorizing covered care
- Medical liability insurers
- Transgender minors seeking gender-related care
- Families seeking gender-related care
- Federal courts adjudicating retroactive claims
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Mr. Onder (for himself and Mr. Kennedy of Utah) introduced …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Clinicians discussing treatment options, Clinics providing covered interventions, Detransition healthcare providers
Positive-direction: Detransition healthcare providers, Former minor patients bringing federal claims, Patients receiving treatment for intervention complications, Patients seeking medical risk information, Patients with disorders of sexual development
Negative-direction: Clinics providing covered interventions, Families seeking gender-related care, Healthcare professionals providing covered interventions, Hospitals providing covered interventions, Supervising clinicians authorizing covered care, Transgender minors seeking gender-related care
Former minor patients bringing federal claims, Legal guardians bringing covered-intervention claims, Medical defense attorneys
Positive-direction: Former minor patients bringing federal claims, Legal guardians bringing covered-intervention claims, Parents bringing covered-intervention claims, Plaintiff attorneys handling covered claims
Negative-direction: Medical defense attorneys
Federal courts adjudicating retroactive claims, Federal courts interpreting disputed standards, Federal courts reviewing the Act
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "court"
- → Federal district court adjudicating damages and defenses
- "parent"
- → Parent or guardian authorized to bring an action
- "patient"
- → Individual subjected to a covered intervention as a child
- "defendant"
- → Provider required to prove an exception
- "institution"
- → Hospital or clinic furnishing or coordinating an intervention
- "professional"
- → Licensed healthcare professional accused of participation
Note: {'scope_ids': ['minor_gender_intervention_civil_liability'], 'description': 'The measure creates civil rather than criminal liability, reaches lawful pre-enactment care, requires clear and convincing participation proof but then imposes prospective strict liability, places exception proof on defendants, and permits medical discussion only while it remains outside the broad participation definition.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Direct planning, authorization, prescription, administration, performance, supervision, or knowing coordination of a covered intervention.
The later of 25 years after the patient's eighteenth birthday or four years after a detransition-treatment cost is incurred.
Specified blocker, hormone, or surgical care intentionally used to alter or halt a child's sex-corresponding development, appearance, or function, subject to listed medical exceptions.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology