Kansas may soon join the states that ban gender-affirming health care for minors, as the Republican-led Legislature has passed a bill that prevents transgender youth from accessing treatments like puberty blockers and hormones, and the bill is now with the governor for approval.
The bill, which was approved by both the state House and Senate on Wednesday, is likely to be turned down by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who rejected a similar measure last year. Despite holding supermajorities in both chambers, Republicans failed to override Kelly’s veto of that bill and another measure to ban transgender women and girls from female school sports teams, as several GOP moderates voted against overriding the governor.
The state Senate passed this year’s bill, Senate Bill 233, with a veto-proof majority on Wednesday, while the House, which approved the measure with a 82-39 party-line vote, fell slightly short. Two House Republicans absent for Wednesday’s vote — state Reps. Michael Houser and Samantha Poetter Parshall — have previously supported the legislation and could give the House the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
Should Republicans manage to override a likely veto from Kelly, Kansas would become the 25th state to ban gender-affirming care for minors, and the third to do so this year. Laws restricting access to care in at least four states are currently tied up in the courts and not being enforced.
However, legal challenges against state-level bans on gender-affirming care have had varying outcomes, and federal appeals courts have differed on the constitutional aspects of such bans. Advocates and opponents have called for the Supreme Court to intervene.
Kansas Republicans emphasized the need for a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the Sunflower State, which is surrounded by states with similar restrictions, to safeguard children from making medical decisions they might regret later.
“The Senate has taken a strong stand in support of helping children by making it clear that radical transgender ideology and the treatment of minors is not legal or welcome in Kansas,” said state Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican, in a statement following Wednesday’s Senate vote.
Before the vote, Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes (D) urged Republicans in the upper chamber to vote against the bill and "show some humanity and kindness."
“Families of trans kids are beside themselves. They’re scared, they’re tired and they’re worried that we will lose more loved ones if this bill passes,” Sykes said Wednesday.
“To our beloved Kansans who are listening to this debate on this bill, I hope that you know there are people in this room that are listening to you,” she said. “We know that you’re getting the care that you need so that you can live your life fully. We understand what this law will do to you and your families if it passes.”
Gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and adults is deemed necessary from a medical perspective and often required to save lives by professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The AMA recently restated its opposition to laws that make it illegal or difficult to provide gender-affirming medical care based on evidence.
