Rep. Onder Reintroduces the Chloe Cole Act, Which Was Transmitted to Congress by The Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2026

Contact: Brooke Morgan

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Bob Onder reintroduced the Chloe Cole Act, which was transmitted to Congress by the Department of Justice. Congressman Onder will again serve as the House sponsor of this legislation, which was commissioned by President Trump’s Executive Order 14187. 

“As a member of Congress, a physician, a parent, and a concerned American, I am committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of our nation’s children. That is why I am proud to reintroduce the Chloe Cole Act of 2026. The importance of this legislation is non-negotiable. This is a landmark bill that will permanently end one of the most dangerous and barbaric medical practices in modern history.”— Congressman Bob Onder

“While we’ve made significant strides in raising awareness and enacting protections in recent years, the fight is far from over. Too many children remain at risk of irreversible harm from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures pushed on them before they can fully understand the consequences. Reintroducing this bill is a vital step in our mission to ensure that no minor in America ever endures the kind of lasting, irreparable damage I experienced. We must finish what we’ve started and safeguard the next generation from these experimental and barbaric treatments.” — Chloe Cole

“This Department of Justice is proud to work hand-in-hand with Rep. Bob Onder on the Chloe Cole Act. This vital legislation will protect our children and give people deeply harmed by so-called “gender affirming-care” the necessary tools to seek the relief they deserve.” — Attorney General Pamela Bondi

To read the full bill click here.

Background:

The Chloe Cole Act of 2026 would:

• Protect minors from medical transgender interventions - including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgical procedures – by placing fully liability on hospitals, clinics and hospitals;
• Establish a private right of action, allowing affected individuals and their families to pursue civil damages, including detransition of medical expenses and damages for emotional distress, pain and suffering; and
• Provide a lengthy statute of limitations to ensure individuals have sufficient time to seek legal recourse.

The legislation is intended to strengthen legal protections for minors, ensure accountability within the medical system, and provide an avenue for individuals and families to pursue justice where harm has occurred.

Statements of Support: 

— “As both a physician and a legislator, my primary commitment has consistently been the safety and well-being of our children. We are seeing a disturbing trend where radical ideologies have overtaken evidence-based medicine, causing irreversible and terrible damage to children,” said Congressman Mike Kennedy. “The evidence shows that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures are extremely harmful and simply the wrong approach. I led the way in 2023 by passing landmark legislation in Utah that set the standard for states around the nation in stopping these evil practices, and the Chloe Cole Act takes that success to the national level. This is a legally durable, constitutionally sound, and clear path forward to stopping a practice that results in the mutilation of children under the guise of care.”

— Tiffany Justice, Executive Vice President, Heritage Action: “Every child deserves the chance to grow up whole, yet we are watching an entire generation be led down a path of irreversible medical heartbreak before they even know who they truly are. Chloe Cole’s bravery in speaking the truth has exposed a system that chose ideology over the safety of our daughters and sons. The Chloe Cole Act is not just about a law; it is about stopping the sterilization of our children and ensuring that no more families are shattered by the lies of a sex rejecting industry. We are standing up for the innocence of childhood and the sacred bond between parent and child that should never, ever be broken. Thank you to Chloe Cole for her courage and to Congressman Bob Onder for introducing this legislation.”

— Matt Sharp, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom: “Children experiencing gender dysphoria need love, support, and medical care rooted in biological truth—not harmful drugs or surgeries. Detransitioners like Chloe Cole are suffering from the often-irreversible harm caused by these procedures. While we cannot restore the healthy bodies of children subjected to dangerous transition drugs and surgeries, the Chloe Cole Act will ensure that those harmed receive justice and that the gender clinics responsible are held accountable. I commend Rep. Onder for reintroducing this essential legislation.”

— “While this Administration has made tremendous progress to stamp out the scandal of sex change interventions on minors, legislation is needed to permanently codify protections for vulnerable American adolescents,” said Stanley Goldfarb, MD, Chairman of Do No Harm. “The Chloe Cole Act is designed to permanently end chemical and surgical damage to minors, which has proliferated to an alarming degree by those who peddle misinformation and practice pseudoscience. The evidence does not support these types of interventions that are harmful and often do irreversible damage. Do No Harm applauds the elected officials who are fighting to end the child sex-change industry.” 

— Terry Schilling, President, American Principles Project: “Too many doctors have shown that they will betray their oath for riches and ideology. The Chloe Cole Act ensures that the people sacrificed at the altar of woke greed can achieve justice and protect future generations from predators in lab coats.”

— Penny Nance, CEO and President, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee: “Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee has been a leader in fighting for children's innocence in the face of insidious gender ideology for over a decade, and we are thrilled to see Representative Onder's bold step in the right direction with the Chloe Cole Act. No child should face the irreversible harms of chemical or surgical mutilation under the guise of ‘gender-affirming care.’”

— Katy Roberts, Senior Policy Manager, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission: “Children are precious image-bearers, purposefully created as either male or female, reflective of God’s good design. So-called ‘gender transition’ interventions tamper with this design, jeopardizing the safety, dignity, and innocence of children in the process. The Chloe Cole Act provides necessary pushback in a culture that has increasingly embraced radical gender ideology. By prohibiting these harmful procedures for minors and providing a strong framework to penalize implicated practitioners, this bill will protect kids from significant and often irreparable harm.”

— Beth Parlato, Senior Legal Counsel, Independent Women’s Law Center: “Independent Women applauds Representative Bob Onder for reintroducing the Chloe Cole Act in the House. America’s children must be protected from irreversible, experimental cross-sex procedures that inflict life-altering harm. This critical legislation is necessary to safeguard the health and safety of our children and restore common sense to our nation’s medical practices.”

— Kelsey Reinhardt, President and CEO, CatholicVote: “Sex is a biological reality that cannot change. Our laws must reflect that reality. This legislation confronts the tragedy not only of Chloe Cole—a detransitioner who underwent a double mastectomy at 15—but of countless others like her. Embracing her Catholic faith gave Chloe the strength to fight back. Chloe’s courage and this legislation constitute a direct rebuke to those who profit from mutilating minors and dare to call it ‘care.’ Children suffering from gender confusion need help and guidance. The Chloe Cole Act makes it more likely they will get that assistance and ends the perverse incentives for hospitals and gender clinics to make money off of mutilating children, an industry that makes billions every year. Thank you to Congressman Onder and all the cosponsors for leading on this issue.”

— Claire Nance Klakring, Director for Public Policy, Association of Christian Schools International: “We are so grateful for Rep. Onder’s leadership in introducing the Chloe Cole Act. This bill is critical to protect children from medical malpractice and lifelong injury. We urge the House to move this bill quickly through the legislative process to give hundreds of young men and women the chance for justice they deserve.”

— Dr. Jill Simons, Executive Director, American College of Pediatricians: “The American College of Pediatricians has been sounding the alarm on the harms of puberty blockers, hormones and sex-rejecting surgeries for minors with sex-identity distress. We applaud the Chloe Cole Act and are pleased to see legislation that will prevent this irreversible damage. This Act will protect American youth from being gaslit into a lifetime of chronic illness and painful regret. Children deserve the best evidence-based medical care, not interventions driven by ideology.”

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