WASHINGTON — Last night, President Biden signed the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, which includes a provision inserted by Speaker Mike Johnson blocking healthcare for the transgender children of military servicemembers. This provision, the first anti-LGBTQ+ federal law enacted since the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, will rip medically necessary care from the transgender children of thousands of military families – families who make incredible sacrifices in defense of the country each and every day. The last anti-LGBTQ+ federal law that explicitly targeted military servicemembers was Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which went into effect in 1994.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson issued the following statement:

“Military families lay everything on the line for our country. They uproot and move at a moment’s notice, make immense personal sacrifices, and often risk their lives in defense of our freedoms. In turn, that sacrifice has been met with disrespect and the use of their children as a political bargaining chip. For them, this law is not about politics – it’s about losing the freedom to make their own health care decisions. Congress and the White House have failed military families. This country’s first anti-LGBTQ+ federal law in almost 30 years disgraces those who have sacrificed so much. We will continue to support, trust, and fight for all military families.”

A group of Senate Democrats attempted to remove the anti-transgender provision in the bill’s closing days. Led by U.S. Sen.Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), 21 Senators put forth an amendment striking the language that would deny health care to the children of servicemembers. In her statement, Baldwin said, “I trust our servicemembers and their doctors to make the best healthcare decisions for their kids, not politicians.” U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) joined HRC and partners at a press conference to call for a rejection of the poisoned NDAA. However, the amendment was not brought for a vote.

Every credible medical organization – representing over 1.3 million doctors in the United States – agrees that age-appropriate health care for transgender and non-binary people is medically necessary and best practice. Which is why majorities of Americans oppose criminalizing or banning gender-affirming care. A recent Gallup poll found that more than 60% of Americans oppose laws that seek to ban access to medically necessary care for transgender youth.

Despite President Biden’s repeated promises to veto legislation that would enshrine discrimination against transgender people, the NDAA was signed into law.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.