Four House Republicans joined Democrats in opposing legislation that would ban irreversible sex change procedures for minors — a move that exposes just how fractured the GOP has become on protecting children.

The House on Wednesday evening passed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would criminalize puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures for minors seeking to alter their biological sex. The bill marks the first time a nationwide ban on child sex changes has reached the House floor.

Despite overwhelming Republican messaging against gender ideology, Reps. Gabe Evans of Colorado, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Kennedy of Utah, and Mike Lawler of New York voted against the measure.

Their opposition came even as three Democrats — Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Don Davis of North Carolina — crossed party lines to support the bill. All three represent competitive swing districts that Republicans are targeting in the next election cycle, underscoring the political risks Democrats increasingly face on the issue.

Greene’s legislation would make performing sex change procedures on minors a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Parents and adults who assist minors in obtaining such procedures would also face penalties.

The bill simply codifies what common sense already dictates: children are not capable of consenting to permanent medical interventions that can sterilize them, alter their development, and cause lifelong harm.

“Republicans showed today that they are as committed to protecting children as Democrats are to disfiguring them,” said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. “Democrats have been captured by an ideology that is as poisonous as it is profitable.”

The vote also exposed bitter infighting within the Republican conference. Greene secured a floor vote on her bill by leveraging her support for a procedural vote advancing the annual National Defense Authorization Act — a tactic that drew sharp criticism from Texas Rep. Chip Roy.

“That’s the kind of [stuff] that happens around this institution and I’m sick of it,” Roy said during a House Rules Committee meeting, accusing leadership of trading votes.

Greene fired back, accusing Roy of attempting to weaken her legislation and enable what she described as the continued “trans agenda on kids.” Roy countered that narrowing the bill could improve its chances in the Senate.

For many conservatives, the argument rang hollow. More than half of U.S. states have already enacted bans on child sex changes, and public support for protecting minors from such procedures continues to grow.