Health Care

Medical transition for minors

30 public statements from 2026 candidates · 2 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These laws decide what treatment young people with gender dysphoria can get, and how much say their parents and doctors have.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether people under 18 can receive puberty blockers, hormones or surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria, which more than 20 states ban; in 2025 the Supreme Court upheld one such state law, and since October 2026 a federal rule bars Medicaid from paying for these treatments for minors.1,2

  1. Ban these treatments for minors
  2. Allow some with limits, such as minimum ages, waiting periods or no surgery
  3. No legal limits; leave decisions to patients, parents and doctors

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Ban these treatments for minors (4)

  • Pro-Life ID Governor
    His campaign website says Idaho should make transition-related hormones and surgery illegal at any age.3
  • Julia Letlow LA Senate
    Her campaign website says she would ban gender transition procedures for minors.4
  • Bob Onder MO-3
    His campaign website says he is leading the Chloe Cole Act in Congress to end transgender surgeries on children, and that he led citizen groups in a push that led to the passage of legislation outlawing hormonal or surgical transgender treatments of children.5
  • Jack Codiga NC-12
    His platform page says people under 18 should not have access to medical procedures for gender transition, and that neither public funds nor government-backed insurance should support them.6

No legal limits; leave decisions to patients, parents and doctors (8)

  • Amanda N. Pusczek AL-4
    Her campaign website says she supports a federal law protecting clinicians who provide gender-affirming care from state prosecution and overriding state bans on that care.7
  • Robb Ryerse AR-3
    His campaign website says gender-affirming care should be available to those who need it, guided by families and medical professionals, and criticizes Arkansas laws that block it.8
  • Melat Kiros CO-1
    Her platform supports access to gender-affirming care for all ages, with medical decisions made by patients, families and doctors rather than politicians.9
  • Erik Underwood CO Governor
    His campaign website says he would protect gender-affirming care for adults and, in consultation with families and medical professionals, for minors.10
  • Daniel Biss IL-9
    His campaign website says he will defend the right of individuals and families to make private medical decisions, including about gender-affirming care, without government interference.11
  • Eric Sorensen IL-17
    His campaign website says he opposes state and federal bills that target transgender youth and their families, and that private medical decisions belong to parents, doctors and the individuals themselves.12
  • Abdul El-Sayed MI Senate
    His campaign website says health care decisions, including gender-affirming care, should be made by patients, their parents if they are minors, and their doctors, and no one else.13
  • Alani Bankhead MT Senate
    Her campaign website says medical decisions for children belong to the child, their parents and their doctors, and that she would protect access to gender-affirming care.14

Statements that don't match one option (18)

  • Tom Cotton AR Senate
    His campaign website says he supports stopping gender transition surgeries for minors and defended Arkansas's state ban on them.15,16
  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says transgender youth and their families should be protected from federal prosecution over medically recommended care, and lists among his accomplishments a California law making the state a refuge for transgender youth and their parents.17
  • Brad Sherman CA-32
    His campaign website says he has voted against proposals to restrict gender-affirming care and signed a brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Tennessee's ban on such care for minors.18
  • Stephanie M. Vargas CA-33
    Her campaign website says she opposes medical interventions that ask children to make permanent choices before they reach maturity.19
  • Marni von Wilpert CA-48
    Her campaign website says she will push back against bans on gender-affirming care.20
  • Michael Ted Goldstein CT-4
    His campaign platform calls for banning gender-affirming surgery until adulthood.21
  • David Jolly FL Governor
    In a statement on transgender Floridians on his campaign website, he says a governor should have no say in a family's medical decisions and that government should stay out of the doctor's office.22
  • Charles Burkett FL Governor
    The positions website his campaign names says permanent, life-altering medical decisions that are not life-threatening must wait until a person turns 18.23
  • Joe Mitchell IA-2
    His campaign website says he opposes gender-transition surgeries for minors and will fight to ban the use of federal tax dollars for these procedures.24
  • Matt Loesby ID Senate
    His campaign website says he believes gender dysphoria should not be treated with hormones or surgery, and that the federal government should not set a standard on the issue.25
  • Andy Barr KY Senate
    His campaign website says he supported and voted for legislation banning gender transition surgery for minors.26
  • April McClain Delaney MD-6
    Her campaign website says she would advocate against initiatives to ban gender-affirming care.27
  • Robert B. Charles ME Governor
    His No Nonsense plan says he would end a state law allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to receive gender-affirming hormone treatment without parental consent, saying parents should make medical decisions for their children.28
  • Jordan Herrera MO-4
    His campaign website lists protecting access to gender-affirming care and opposing blanket bans that remove decision-making authority from families and doctors.29
  • Eugene F. Douglass NC-2
    His campaign brochure says children should be protected from gender surgeries, which it calls harmful.30
  • Michael Anthony Bahry RI Senate
    His campaign website says children should be protected from irreversible medical decisions they are too young to fully understand, and that young people should get counseling and time rather than permanent medical procedures.31
  • Lauren Pinkston TN Governor
    Her campaign website says she affirms the Supreme Court decision that allowed Tennessee to ban transgender surgeries for people under 18, and would repeal the state's registry of people seeking gender-affirming care.32
  • Tom Tiffany WI Governor
    His campaign website says he would sign legislation banning gender transition surgery for minors.33

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.