H.R. 10745: Yaeli Martinez Child Protection Act

This bill would change how child welfare agencies, courts, and federally funded programs handle issues involving a child’s sex, gender identity, and certain medical or social interventions.

Core policy changes

• It defines “affirming a child’s sex” as raising the child in a way that matches the child’s sex as defined in the bill.
• It bars states and child-welfare authorities from treating a parent’s or guardian’s support for that interpretation of a child’s sex as child abuse or neglect.
• It limits state action in custody or related proceedings by prohibiting jurisdiction or penalties based on a parent seeking, refusing, or opposing what the bill calls “sex-rejecting interventions.”

Restrictions on child welfare and medical interventions

• The bill would block certain federal child welfare funds from going to programs or agencies that support or provide “sex-rejecting interventions.”
• It would restrict foster care and adoption-related funding if those programs are connected to such interventions.
• It requires sex-based placement and care in certain settings, including separate housing or accommodations based on sex as defined in the bill.
• It prohibits nonconsensual changes to pronouns or titles in some settings covered by the bill.

Enforcement and legal remedies

• The bill creates a federal private right of action, meaning people could sue in federal court to enforce its provisions.
• Available remedies would include damages, injunctions, and attorney’s fees.
• It also waives certain immunity defenses, making it easier to bring claims against states or state actors under the bill.
• States or agencies that do not comply could face federal funding penalties.

Definitions

• The bill adds definitions for terms such as sex, affirmation, and sex-rejecting interventions.
• Those definitions would determine when child welfare agencies, courts, and funded programs must follow the bill’s rules.

Relevant Companies

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