Kansas Lawmakers' Attempt to Overturn the Governor's Veto of gender-affirming Care ban Fails

Kansas’ state House failed on Monday to overturn Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a restriction on gender-affirming care for minors, a result cheered by transgender rights supporters.

Kelly, who vetoed SB 233 earlier this month, praised the state House’s decision to uphold her veto.

“I am pleased that bipartisan members of the legislature have remained fast in their belief that divisive proposals such as House Substitute for Senate Bill 233 have no place in Kansas. “The legislature’s decision to uphold my veto is a victory for parental rights, Kansas families, and families looking to call our state home,” she said in a statement Monday night.

On Monday night, Kansas’ Republican-controlled Senate voted 27-13 to overturn Kelly’s veto. However, with the Republican-controlled state House voting 82-43, supporters of the bill fell just two votes short of the two-thirds majority required to establish the ban.

MicstagesUK has reached out to state House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson for comments.

The bill would have prohibited trans and nonbinary minors in Kansas from receiving gender-affirming therapy, such as oestrogen and testosterone hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and surgery – despite the fact that surgical operations on youngsters are uncommon.

Minors using puberty blockers and/or oestrogen or testosterone would have been permitted to continue their medication until December 31, 2024, if a physician devised a phase-out strategy and demonstrated that discontinuing care would risk the kid.

The bill would have permitted civil lawsuits to be brought against doctors, who might have had their licences revoked if they offered gender-affirming treatment to a youngster and would not have been covered by liability insurance for any losses resulting from such care.

The bill also forbade the use of state funds, such as Medicaid, to encourage treatments, and state officials from recognising a minor’s preferred pronouns if they did not correspond to the gender given at birth.

“Blocking SB233 is a triumph for transgender children, families, and supporters throughout the state. We are thrilled and relieved, and we continue to be in awe of this session’s tremendous display of courage, resilience, and solidarity in this community of transgender Kansans and allies,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, in a statement.