Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly once again vetoes gender-affirming care ban for minors

Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has again vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, saying it would be "infringing on parental rights."

Senate Bill 63 sought to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, while allowing the same treatments to continue for cisgender minors with other conditions. The legislation threatened to revoke the licenses of doctors who continued the treatment for trans youth.

Kelly vetoed the legislation Tuesday, saying in a statement that "the Legislature should be focused on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices. That is the most important issue for Kansans. That is where my focus is."

“Infringing on parental rights is not appropriate, nor is it a Kansas value. As I’ve said before, it is not the job of politicians to stand between a parent and a child who needs medical care of any kind," Kelly said. "This legislation will also drive families, businesses, and health care workers out of our state, stifling our economy and exacerbating our workforce shortage issue."

“It is disappointing that the Legislature continues to push for government interference in Kansans’ private medical decisions instead of focusing on issues that improve all Kansans’ lives," she concluded.

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The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the World Medical Association, and the World Health Organization all agree that gender-affirming care is evidence-based and medically necessary not just for adults, but minors as well.

Kelly vetoed a similar ban in 2023 while issuing vetoes against other bills restricting transgender people's restroom use, a measure requiring gender segregation according to birth sex on overnight school trips, and one mandating similar segregation in jails and prisons. Kelly also vetoed a ban on transgender athletes in school sports three years in a row before her veto was overridden.

The Republican-dominated state legislature previously failed to override her veto of the gender-affirming care ban, but are likely to try again, and possess the votes to do so. The current bill passed the Senate late January in a 32-8 vote, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in favor. The House voted 85-35, just one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override, though four Republicans and three Democrats were absent.

Donald Trump has issued an executive order pushing to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors at a federal level. Though he does not have the legal standing to do so, several hospitals have since announced that they will be stopping the care out of precaution. Two trans young adults, five trans adolescents and their families, and two advocacy organizations organizations, PFLAG and GLMA, filed a federal lawsuit in February to challenge the order.