Full Text of HB4482

LRB104 14836 AAS 27980 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4482

Introduced 1/20/2026, by Rep. William E Hauter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Prohibition on Gender Reassignment Procedures Act. Sets forth findings. Defines terms. Provides that a health care provider shall not perform or offer to perform on a minor, or administer or offer to administer to a minor, a medical procedure if the performance or administration of the procedure is for the purpose of: (1) enabling the minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex; or (2) treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity. Provides for a private right of action for a minor or a parent of a minor that was injured as a result of the Act and a right of action for the Attorney General. Provides that a violation constitutes a potential threat to public health, safety, and welfare and emergency action shall be taken by an alleged violator's appropriate regulatory authority. Provides that a minor upon whom a medical procedure is performed or administered must not be held liable for violating the Act. Makes other changes.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Prohibition on Gender Reassignment Procedures Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the following:

(1) The General Assembly must take action to protect the health and welfare of minors.

(2) Medical procedures that alter a minor's hormonal balance, remove a minor's sex organs, or otherwise change a minor's physical appearance are harmful to a minor when the procedures are performed for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity that is inconsistent with the minor's sex or treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity. These procedures can lead to the minor becoming irreversibly sterile, having an increased risk of disease and illness, or suffering from adverse and sometimes fatal psychological consequences. Moreover, the General Assembly finds it likely that not all harmful effects associated with these types of medical procedures when performed on a minor are fully known as many of these procedures, when performed on a minor for such purposes, are experimental in nature and not supported by high-quality, long-term medical studies.

(3) There is evidence that medical procedures that alter a minor's hormonal balance, remove a minor's sex organs, or otherwise change a minor's physical appearance are not consistent with professional medical standards when the medical procedures are performed for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex or treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity because a minor's discordance can be resolved by less invasive approaches that are likely to result in better outcomes for the minor.

(4) Medical procedures are being performed on and administered to minors in this State for such purposes, notwithstanding the risks and harms to the minors.

(5) Dr. John Money, one of the earliest advocates for performing or administering such medical procedures on minors and a founder of the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic, abused minors entrusted to his care, resulting in the suicides of David and Brian Reimer.

(6) Such medical procedures are being performed on and administered to minors in this State with rapidly increasing frequency and supposed guidelines advocating such treatment have changed substantially in recent years.

(7) Minors lack the maturity to fully understand and appreciate the life-altering consequences of such procedures and many individuals have expressed regret for medical procedures that were performed on or administered to them for such purposes when they were minors.

(8) Many of the same pharmaceutical companies that contributed to the opioid epidemic have sought to profit from the administration of drugs to or the use of devices on minors for such purposes and have paid consulting fees to physicians who then advocate for the administration of drugs or the use of devices for such purposes.

(9) The integrity and public respect of the medical profession are significantly harmed by health care providers performing or administering such medical procedures on minors.

(10) This State has a legitimate, substantial, and compelling interest in the following: (1) protecting minors from physical and emotional harm, (2) protecting the ability of minors to develop into adults who can create children of their own, (3) promoting the dignity of minors, (4) encouraging minors to appreciate their sex, particularly as they undergo puberty, and (5) protecting the integrity of the medical profession, including by prohibiting medical procedures that are harmful, unethical, immoral, experimental, or unsupported by high-quality or long-term studies, or that might encourage minors to become disdainful of their sex.

Section 10. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to prohibit medical procedures from being administered to or performed on minors when the purpose of the medical procedure is to: (1) enable a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex; or (2) treat purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity.

Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Congenital defect" means a physical or chemical abnormality present in a minor that is inconsistent with the normal development of a human being of the minor's sex. "Congenital defect" includes abnormalities caused by a medically verifiable disorder of sex development. "Congenital defect" does not include gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, gender incongruence, or any mental condition, disorder, disability, or abnormality.

"Health care provider" means a health care professional, establishment, or facility licensed, registered, certified, or permitted and regulated under the authority of any of the following:

(1) the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation;

(2) the Department of Public Health; or

(3) an agency, board, council, or committee attached to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or the Department of Public Health.

"Medical procedure" includes, but is not limited to, surgically removing, modifying, altering, or entering into tissues, cavities, or organs of a human being or prescribing, administering, or dispensing any drug or device to a human being.

"Minor" means an individual under 18 years of age.

"Parent" means any biological, legal, or adoptive parent or any legal guardian of the minor.

"Sex" means a person's immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the individual as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth.

Section 20. Prohibitions.

(a) A health care provider shall not perform or offer to perform on a minor, or administer or offer to administer to a minor, a medical procedure if the performance or administration of the procedure is for the purpose of: (1) enabling the minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex; or (2) treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity.

(b) It is not a violation of this Section if a health care provider performs or offers to perform a medical procedure on, or administers or offers to administer a medical procedure to, a minor if:

(1) the performance or administration of the medical procedure is to treat a minor's congenital defect, disease, or physical injury; or

(2) the performance or administration of the medical procedure on the minor began prior to the effective date of this Act.

The minor's treating physician must certify in writing that, in the physician's good-faith medical judgment and based upon the facts known to the physician at the time, ending the medical procedure would be harmful to the minor. The certification must include the findings supporting the certification and must be made a part of the minor's medical record.

For purposes of this subsection (b), "disease" does not include gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, gender incongruence, or any mental condition, disorder, disability, or abnormality.

(c) A health care provider shall not perform or administer a medical procedure that is different from the medical procedure performed prior to the effective date of this Act when the sole purpose of the different medical procedure is to: (1) enable the minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex; or (2) treat purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity.

(d) Nothing in this Section abrogates a minor's right to bring a cause of action against a health care provider or the minor's parent pursuant to Section 25.

(e) It is not a defense to any legal liability incurred as the result of a violation of this Section that a minor, or a parent of a minor, consented to the conduct that constituted the violation. This Section supersedes any common law rule regarding a minor's ability to consent to a medical procedure that is performed or administered for the purpose of: (1) enabling the minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex; or (2) treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity.

Section 25. Private right of action.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a minor, or the parent of a minor, injured as a result of a violation of Section 20, may bring a civil cause of action to recover compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and expenses.

(b) A minor injured as a result of a violation of Section 20 may bring a civil cause of action pursuant to this Section against the health care provider alleged to have violated Section 20 and the minor's parent if the parent of the minor consented to the conduct that constituted the violation on behalf of the minor.

(c) This Section supersedes any common law immunity granted to a parent.

(d) The parent of a minor injured as a result of a violation of Section 20 may bring a civil cause of action pursuant to this Section against a health care provider alleged to have violated Section 20. The parent of a minor injured as a result of a violation of Section 20 shall not bring a civil cause of action against a health care provider if the parent consented to the conduct that constituted the violation on behalf of the minor.

(e) The parent or next of kin of a minor may bring a wrongful death action against a health care provider alleged to have violated Section 20 if the injured minor is deceased and both of the following are met:

(1) the minor's death is the result of the physical or emotional harm inflicted upon the minor by the violation; and

(2) the parent of the minor did not consent to the conduct that constituted the violation on behalf of the minor.

(f) If a court in any civil action brought pursuant to this Section finds that a health care provider knowingly violated Section 20, then the court shall notify the appropriate regulatory authority and the Attorney General by mailing a certified copy of the court's order to the regulatory authority and the Attorney General. Notification pursuant to this subsection (f) shall be made upon a final judgment of the court.

(g) For purposes of this Section, compensatory damages may include the following:

(1) Reasonable economic losses caused by the emotional, mental, or physical effects of the violation, including, but not limited to:

(A) the cost of counseling, hospitalization, and any other medical expenses connected with treating the harm caused by the violation;

(B) any out-of-pocket costs of the minor paid to the health care provider for the prohibited medical procedure; and

(C) any loss of income caused by the violation; and

(2) Noneconomic damages caused by the violation, including, but not limited to, psychological and emotional anguish.

(h) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an action commenced under this Section must be brought within 30 years from the date the minor reaches 18 years of age or within 10 years of the minor's death if the minor dies.

(i) This Section is declared to be remedial in nature and this Section must be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes.

(j) If this Section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given effect without this Section or application, and to that end, this Section is severable.

Section 30. Attorney General's right of action.

(a) The Attorney General shall establish a process by which violations of Section 20 may be reported.

(b) The Attorney General may bring an action against a health care provider that knowingly violated Section 20, within 20 years of the violation, to enjoin further violations, disgorge any profits received due to the medical procedure, and recover a civil penalty of $25,000 per violation.

(c) A civil penalty collected pursuant to this Section must be paid into the General Revenue Fund.

(d) The Attorney General is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and expenses if the Attorney General prevails in an action brought pursuant to this Section.

Section 35. Health care provider licensing sanctions. A violation of Section 20 constitutes a potential threat to public health, safety, and welfare and emergency action shall be taken by an alleged violator's appropriate regulatory authority.

Section 40. Minor immunity. A minor upon whom a medical procedure is performed or administered must not be held liable for violating Section 20.