Kansas GOP overrides governor’s veto of ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Kansas’s GOP Legislature voted Tuesday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, becoming the 27th state to restrict access to treatment. 

Republicans, with supermajorities in both chambers, easily cleared the two-thirds majority threshold needed to override Kelly’s veto in a set of votes that caught some Democrats off-guard. Kansas lawmakers had previously failed to override Kelly’s vetoes of similar measures. 

State Senate Bill 63, which is set to take effect later this month, aims to broadly prevent health care professionals from providing gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery, to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria.  

The measure slashes state support for transition-related care and puts doctors who continue providing it in jeopardy of losing their medical licenses. 

In a joint statement, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson (R) and House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R) said they voted Tuesday “in honor of the children Governor Kelly failed to protect with her repeated vetoes of this sensible legislation.” 

They called gender-affirming care “harmful, irreversible, and experimental,” characterizations in conflict with those of major medical groups that say such care is medically necessary and can be lifesaving. 

Responding to the veto, Kelly said, “It is inappropriate that the Legislature dictate to parents how to best raise their children.” 

“It is unfortunate that the first bill the Legislature sent me this session is focused on putting politicians between Kansans and their private medical decisions instead of prioritizing solutions to issues like rising prices and the cost of groceries, which would benefit everyone,” she said. “This divisive bill will undoubtedly have ripple effects that harm Kansas families, our businesses, and our economy and intensify our workforce shortage issue.” 

Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said Republican lawmakers had disregarded medical professionals, transgender youth and their families in voting to override Kelly’s veto. 

“We remain unconvinced that this legislature understands the real concerns and constitutional protections afforded to everyday Kansans, and their rush to push this government intrusion through demonstrates it all the more,” Kubic said in an emailed statement. “This was an extremist, shameful attack on Kansans.” 

The legislature’s vote comes after President Trump signed an executive order to end federal support for gender-affirming care, which a federal judge blocked last week. The administration has broadly denied the existence of transgender people, removing transgender resources from government websites and declaring the U.S. recognizes only two sexes, male and female.