Following a vote by two Republican lawmakers this week, the Kansas legislature was unable to override the governor’s veto of a bill prohibiting medical treatments related to transgender identity for minors.
The defeated measure prohibited gender surgery, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers for kids.
The state Senate successfully overrode the governor’s veto by a vote of 27–13. Just two votes separated the state House from the two-thirds majority required to override the veto, as they voted 82–43.
To destroy the measure, two Republicans crossed party lines and voted with Democrats. Despite having previously voted in support of the measure, state house representatives Susan Concannon and Jesse Borjon voted against overturning the governor’s veto.
Concannon declared from the House floor, “We hear about bullying and encourage authorities to make it stop.” We hear about suicide and mental health, and we wonder why. We are not paying attention to the young people affected. Involving the government is not the solution.
She went on, “I voted for this measure in the past because I was worried about the procedure.” After careful consideration, this bill is unclear outside of the procedure. These judgments should be made by the parents and professional team. We must help the children, not burden the government. I hear you, everyone who has contacted me, and I vote to uphold the governor’s veto.
While he “absolutely supports” banning gender reassignment surgery and “limiting” the use of hormone blockers, Borjon, the other Republican who voted against the measure, said that some of its provisions “went too far in restricting mental and behavioral health treatment for minors.”
State Senator Mark Steffen, a Republican who voted in favor and a physician, criticized the “woke health care system” for pushing kids to have gender-neutral medical procedures.
“I cast my ballot today to prevent the mutilation of our children,” Steffen declared.
Earlier last month, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the restriction.
In a statement on Monday night, Kelly praised the legislature’s inability to overcome her veto.
Kelly expressed her satisfaction with the bipartisan legislators’ unwavering stance that divisive proposals like House Substitute for Senate Bill 233 have no place in Kansas. “The legislature’s decision to uphold my veto is a victory for families wishing to relocate to Kansas, parental rights, and our state.”
Children already on estrogen, testosterone, or puberty blockers would have been able to keep taking the medications through the end of the year under the failed plan. Their physicians would have needed to demonstrate that removing the medications right away would put the kid at risk, in addition to devising a strategy to gradually wean them off of them.
Additionally, the law would have permitted patients to sue physicians for treating minors in a transgender manner. In addition, physicians who disobey the restriction risk having their medical licenses canceled.
Additionally, the bill would have made it illegal to support transgender medical treatments with public funding like Medicaid. It would also have been illegal for state officials to refer to children by pronouns other than their biological sex.
There are laws or policies in place in twenty states that limit children’s access to transgender medical care.
The opposition to transsexual medications and operations for minors is considerably stronger in Europe. There are tight restrictions on medical gender transformations for youngsters in England and a few other nations.
Cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers can have significant health hazards. Puberty blockers can lead to a variety of problems, including infertility, voice damage, sexual dysfunction, and altered bone development and density. Cross-sex hormones can lead to major health problems such as liver failure, severe psychiatric disease, heart attacks, fatal blood clots, higher chances of breast and ovarian cancer, and infertility.
