Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, has introduced legislation that would allow Wisconsinites to sue doctors and health care providers if they were harmed as minors by gender transition procedures. Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, is co-sponsoring the measure, which the lawmakers say is designed to bring accountability to an industry profiting from irreversible medical interventions on children.

The bill, LRB-2406, would create a civil cause of action for individuals who suffered physical or psychological injury due to treatments such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or gender-related surgeries performed before the age of 18.

Under the proposal, victims could bring legal claims against providers up until age 33, reflecting the belief that the lasting consequences of such procedures may not be fully realized until adulthood.

The bill establishes a defense if all of the following occur before performing the procedure:

1. The provider documents the individual’s perceived gender or sex for at least two continuous years, showing it is invariably inconsistent with biological sex.
   
2. At least one mental health professional and one other provider certify in writing that the procedure is the only way to treat the individual’s mental health concern.
   
3. At least one mental health professional and one other provider certify in writing that the individual has no other mental health concerns.
   
4. The provider obtains voluntary and informed consent from the individual and the parent or guardian, with required oral and written notice given at least 30 days before the first treatment and at every medical visit for the following six months.

In her press release, Nedweski argued that pharmaceutical companies and health providers have “built a highly profitable industry by targeting vulnerable children and promoting so-called ‘gender-affirming care.’”

Nedweski pointed to the lack of long-term studies on the risks associated with these treatments, noting that many patients harmed by gender transition services currently have little legal recourse. (RELATED: Wisconsin Congressman Saves 11 Year-Old Boy in Crash on Interstate)

“Under current law, patients who are injured during an appendectomy, a tooth extraction, or the administration of anesthesia can pursue claims for damages,” Nedweski said in her newsletter. “It is only reasonable that we extend the same legal protections to those harmed by experimental and inadequately researched interventions.”

Rep. Amanda Nedweski has pointed to national data reinforcing her position that the number of children being diagnosed with gender dysphoria has grown sharply in recent years, citing figures highlighted in a Reuters investigation.

She noted that there were roughly 15,000 cases among youths in 2017 compared to more than 42,000 by 2021, representing a 180 percent increase.

For Nedweski, these numbers underscore the urgency of her legislation, which she argues is necessary to give young people harmed by gender transition interventions a pathway to justice. She has framed the bill not as a partisan maneuver but as a response to what she views as a rapidly expanding medical practice without sufficient safeguards

The co-sponsorship period has ended, however, the bill has yet to be assigned a bill number or a public hearing. It the bill were to pass; it’s almost certain Governor Evers would veto it. (RELATED: Wisconsin GOP Pushes ‘Farmland Link’ to Save Family Farms)