Marjorie Taylor Greene is yet again making waves in American politics, and as usual, she is coming across as unhinged rather than as a viable political candidate. The Georgia Republican is well known for lambasting her rivals over culture war politics, and her recent push in promoting her “Protect Children’s innocence Act” demonstrates that the representative has little more than shock value on her side. In a recent bid to pull attention to her proposed bill, Greene released a heavy-handed ad on Twitter, which features some shocking imagery, but not quite in the way the Republican was aiming for.
What is H.R. 8731?
Shared via Tweet early Monday morning, H.R. 8731, aka the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act,” is Greene’s latest push for the regulation of gender-affirming care for trans patients. The bill, which was introduced in August 2022, seeks to amend chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit gender affirming care on minors by slapping a class C felony on medical providers. According to the legislation, a minor involved would be allowed to levy charges against anyone who provided the treatment, but the proposal leaves ambiguous what might be considered “care.” It outlaws more than a dozen medical procedures, ranging from puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to certain kinds of surgeries.
Giving gender affirming care to any patient will be considered a Class C felony under Greene’s proposed legislation, carrying a punishment of 10 to 25 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. It places care providers in the same crime bracket as larceny, illegal drug distribution and aggravated assault, and any care provider residing in the U.S. under a work visa will be eligible for immediate deportation if caught administering care.
The bill goes on to prohibit the use of federal funds for care, preventing federally-funded hospitals from providing care as well as preventing federally-funded insurance plans from paying for any part of treatment.
The dog whistle nature of the claim
Gender affirming care is considered effective, safe and medically necessary by many medical associations. While the main purpose of the bill is to “protect children,” most states already have laws preventing gender affirming care for those under the age of 18, the legal age of adulthood in the U.S. Conservative voices in mainstream politics are currently obsessed with identity politics and culture wars, Greene’s latest rhetoric falls in the same camp as Tucker Carlson’s outrage over M&Ms, and is a momentary push for outrage and attention.
Potential problems with her ad
Greene’s ad exemplifies the typical propaganda style, with overly-dramatic readings and grainy images. She relies on her own narration to give the backdrop for the “horror” she is trying to prevent. Rather than backing her claims with legitimate scientific evidence, she uses fear tactics and a range of images depicting people who have allegedly received gender affirming care in the past. The images range from depicting scarring to recent surgeries, and all of them seem incredibly personal. One image appears to depict a recent phalloplasty, and given Greene’s stance on trans people, it seems very likely she did not have permission to share the graphic and highly-sensitive image. Beyond the truly icky premise of showing someone’s personal parts without their consent, Greene is weaponizing these images to use against innocent people likely seeking out these treatments.
Considering it is illegal under Georgia law to post explicit images and videos of someone online without their consent, Greene could find herself in hot water over the political stunt. While the Republican has made a career for herself creating political debacles, the charge would look bad, even for her. If she in fact did not have permission to share these images, it won’t be long before this ad is removed from the web, but it won’t happen before this misguided and inaccurate scare-pieces may have influenced countless viewers.