# Republican ads distort facts on gender care for kids > Ads in Senate races misrepresent Democratic candidates' positions on gender-affirming care, citing votes against broader legislation as support for surgeries on minors. - Title: Republican ads distort facts on gender care for kids - Summary: Ads in Senate races misrepresent Democratic candidates' positions on gender-affirming care, citing votes against broader legislation as support for surgeries… - Keywords: republican ads, gender-affirming care, senate races, sherrod brown, james talarico, mary peltola, fact-checking, campaign advertising, ohio, texas, alaska, politics - Source: FactCheck.org — https://factcheck.org/2026/10/republican-ads-distort-the-facts-in-claiming-democratic-support-for-sex-changes-for-kids - Author: Lori Robertson - Published: 2026-10-12T22:36:57+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: republican ads, gender-affirming care, senate races, sherrod brown, james talarico, mary peltola, fact-checking, campaign advertising, ohio, texas, alaska, politics ## Millions spent on misleading ads Republican groups have spent more than one hundred million dollars on over two hundred ads since August first containing the words sex change, with over seventy seven million in Senate races alone. ## The core claim in these ads The ads claim Democratic candidates support sex changes for children or taxpayer funding for such surgeries. But the allegations of support for those claims are flawed. ## When surgeries actually happen Gender-affirming surgeries typically take place after age eighteen, according to experts and studies on the prevalence of gender-affirming care. ## Ohio: Brown's actual words Ads from the Senate Leadership Fund say Democrat Sherrod Brown supports sex changes for minors. > A child's health care decisions are between them, their parents, their families, their doctors, not politicians. ## What Brown was actually discussing Brown was responding to a federal bill by then Senator JD Vance that aimed to prohibit gender-affirming care on minors, defined as both surgeries and medication including hormones and puberty-blocking drugs. ## The Aldaco ad's false impression Two Senate Leadership Fund ads feature Soren Aldaco, who had top surgery at age nineteen in Texas. One ad leaves the false impression that Aldaco had surgery as a minor without her parents' consent. ## Ohio's actual law on the issue Gender-affirming care, defined as both medication and surgery, for minors is illegal in Ohio. The law was enacted in twenty twenty-four after the Ohio Legislature overrode Republican Governor Mike DeWine's veto. ## DeWine's reasoning for his veto In vetoing the bill, DeWine said these are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors, while noting he was against surgeries before age eighteen. > These are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them. ## Texas: Talarico's vote misrepresented An ad from Texas PAC says Democrat James Talarico supported using taxpayer dollars for sex change surgeries on young children. ## What Talarico actually voted for Talarico voted for an amendment that would have restricted the bill to banning surgeries only. In September, he told Fox News he opposed the legislation because it was overly broad. ## Talarico's position on surgeries Talarico's campaign says these ads are lies and that James opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors. He told Fox News he would absolutely support a national prohibition on gender-affirming surgery for minors. ## Alaska: Peltola's votes mischaracterized Ads from No Going Back PAC claim Democrat Mary Peltola voted against prohibiting taxpayer funded sex changes for minors, citing three votes. But the ads misrepresent what those votes were about. ## Peltola's defense spending votes Two of Peltola's votes were against amendments to prohibit gender-affirming surgeries or medication for minors under military healthcare programs. One program, TRICARE, was already explicitly prohibited from covering gender-affirming surgical care. ## Why Peltola opposed the amendments Peltola's campaign pointed to statements by an advocacy group for LGBTQ plus service members saying the amendments would hurt military readiness and retention. Peltola ultimately voted for the final House version of the defense bill. ## Peltola's statement on the third vote The third vote cited was against a version of the defense bill in July twenty twenty-three. Peltola specifically criticized Republican amendments including one that would have limited abortion access for military personnel. ## Peltola's position on surgeries A spokesperson for Peltola's campaign said Mary does not support gender re-assignment surgeries for children and believes those decisions should be in the hands of parents and doctors, not DC politicians. ## How rare these surgeries actually are Studies found no gender-affirming surgical procedures in transgender minors under twelve years of age. Among older minors, surgeries were rare and almost entirely chest-related. ## Medication use among transgender youth A study of private insurance claims between twenty eighteen and twenty twenty-two found less than zero point one percent of minors ages eight to seventeen with private insurance were transgender or gender diverse and received… ## Expert assessment of the narrative Landon Hughes, a fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said the politicization of gender-affirming care has been driven by a narrative that millions of children are using hormones, but findings reveal… > The politicization of gender-affirming care for transgender youth has been driven by a narrative that millions of children are using hormones and that this type of care is too freely given. Our findings reveal that is not the case. ## Key takeaway Republican ads in multiple Senate races falsely claim Democratic candidates support gender-affirming surgeries for children, misrepresenting their votes and statements.