Kansas made headlines on Tuesday as it joined the ranks of states curbing gender-affirming healthcare for minors. This decision followed the Republican-led Legislature’s unanimous decision to override a veto issued by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly regarding the legislation.
With this legislation’s passage, Kansas becomes the 27th state to implement restrictions or bans on such medical care for young people. This action comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump’s directive prohibiting federal support for gender-affirming care for individuals under 19 years of age.
In the wake of the vote, Elise Flatland, a mother from the Kansas City area who has two transgender children, expressed her profound sorrow, stating, “I just held my 16-year-old daughter, and we cried while we watched them try to erase her existence.”
Scheduled to go into effect this month, the new law is expected to face legal challenges, with critics predicting that either parents or medical professionals will initiate lawsuits in state court to contest its validity.
Proponents of the law defended their position by asserting that it serves to protect vulnerable children from what they describe as a “radical” ideology surrounding gender identity and the consequences of making irreversible medical decisions at a young age. Republican state representative Ron Bryce, a physician from southeastern Kansas, remarked, “This is a fork in the road. This is who we are as a people, as a state.”
The law prohibits the administration of puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgical procedures aimed at helping minors transition from their biological sex. Moreover, it restricts state employees involved in children’s welfare from providing or promoting such treatments, as well as discouraging social transitioning.
In terms of legislative support, the override votes recorded were 85 in favor and 34 against in the House, along with 31 for and 9 against in the Senate. Notably, Republicans maintain supermajorities in both legislative chambers, with only one GOP representative voting against the veto override.
Advocacy groups that support transgender rights promptly announced their intention to assist Kansas families seeking gender-affirming healthcare for their children by providing financial aid and other forms of help to access care out of state.
