Health workers decry hasty House bills to ban gender-affirming care for children: ‘They hurt people’

Two bills, one passing House, mark first time Congress votes over national care bans and escalation of anti-trans rhetoric

Nicholas Mitchell took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. He never knew what to expect inside. Sometimes, the staffers for US House representatives were friendly; sometimes, he'd heard, they tore up their copies of the informational sheets Mitchell carried on a clipboard.

This time, they were receptive. A policy aide for a Democratic representative said he had five minutes to talk, and Mitchell didn't waste any time as they settled into a conference room.