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In several congressional races, Republican ads are claiming that Democratic candidates support \u201csex changes\u201d for children or support taxpayer money being used for such surgeries. But the allegations of support for those claims are flawed.<\/p>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSome of the ads cite politicians\u2019 votes against measures that went beyond prohibiting surgeries. Also, it\u2019s worth noting that gender-affirming surgeries typically take place after age 18, according to experts and studies on the prevalence of gender-affirming care, as we\u2019ve reported<\/a> before. <\/p>\n Republican politicians and outside groups are spending millions on TV, streaming and digital ads pushing these claims. Our search of AdImpact\u2019s ad-tracking database identified more than $100 million in spending on more than 200 ads since Aug. 1 that contain the words \u201csex change.\u201d In federal Senate races alone, the spending totaled more than $77 million.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll look at ads in three toss-up Senate races:<\/p>\n These ads are a continuation of Republican messaging during the 2024 presidential campaign and reflect President Donald Trump\u2019s repeated<\/a> claims<\/a> that Democrats want \u201ctransgender for everybody.\u201d Some of the messages being pushed in the midterms suggest that surgeries are performed on children, even young children, without parental consent. \u201cThe law generally requires the consent of a parent before medical care can be provided to a minor,\u201d according to the National Center for Youth Law<\/a>. There are exceptions, such as state laws allowing minors to consent to emergency care and care for certain services, including abortion, contraception and substance use care.<\/p>\n People who are transgender \u2014 meaning they identify with a gender that doesn\u2019t match the sex they were assigned at birth \u2014 make up a small percentage of the U.S. population. A 2025 report<\/a>\u00a0by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law\u2019s Williams Institute estimated that more than 2.8 million people in the U.S. age 13 and older identify as transgender. That\u2019s 0.8% of adults and 3.3% of youth ages 13 to 17.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll look at ads in three Senate races in which the Democrats are hoping to flip the Republican seats.<\/p>\n Several ads attacking Brown in the Senate race in Ohio claim that he supported \u201ctaxpayer-funded sex changes\u201d on children, citing an interview he did with WSYX-TV in Columbus on July 19, 2023.<\/p>\n Brown didn\u2019t say he supported that. Rather, he was asked about a broader federal bill<\/a>, introduced by then Sen. JD Vance, that aimed to \u201cprohibit gender-affirming care on minors,\u201d defined as both surgeries and medication, including hormones and puberty-blocking drugs. The bill called for fines and\/or prison time for anyone prescribing or administering such care. It also aimed to prohibit federal funding being used for any gender-affirming care.<\/p>\n In a 21-second clip of that interview, posted online<\/a> by the Senate Leadership Fund, Brown says: \u201cA child\u2019s health care decisions are between them, their parents, their families, their doctors \u2014 not politicians. I will never agree with anybody that wants to bring politics into the family situation with health care, period.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance\u2019s bill never received a vote. <\/p>\n In 2024, SLF PAC made similar claims about Brown and also pointed<\/a> PolitiFact to a March 2023 letter<\/a> nine Democratic senators, including Brown, sent to then President Joe Biden. But that doesn\u2019t show Brown necessarily supporting \u201csex-change surgeries for minors\u201d either. Instead, the senators expressed concern about discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and state laws blocking gender-affirming care for youth and adults. As we\u2019ve explained<\/a>, gender-affirming care encompasses counseling, social transitioning and medication \u2014 in addition to surgery.<\/p>\n Two SLF PAC ads feature Soren Aldaco, who is suing<\/a> her medical providers over the \u201ctop surgery,\u201d or double mastectomy, she had at age 19 in Texas. One ad leaves the false impression that Aldaco had surgery as a minor without her parents\u2019 consent. She was an adult at the time.<\/p>\n\n
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Ohio Ads<\/h2>\n