Lawmakers to decide fate of gender-affirming care ban for minors in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. ( KSNT ) – Lawmakers are days away from deciding the fate of a bill banning gender-affirming care ban for Kansas minors.

Governor Kelly vetoed the bill on April 12. Opponents of the bill are making a last-ditch effort to prevent an override. They held a meeting in Salina earlier Monday, where medical and mental health care providers shared their concerns with the ban.

The bill would ban those under 18 years old from receiving gender-transition treatments. It would also punish doctors for providing those treatments to minors. Penalties could include the loss of their medical license and expose them to potential lawsuits.

KSNT News spoke with licensed psychologist Kathryn Tolle at the meeting. She says the bill could put healthcare providers in a difficult position.

“So either I might stop seeing trans clients,” Tolle said, “or I see them, and I’m asked to leave. And I’m denied professional liability insurance, which means insurance companies will not allow me to bill them.”

Do supporters have the votes to override the veto?

It’s unclear whether lawmakers will have the votes to override once the bill is taken up. However, it passed the Senate with a veto-proof majority. The House was only two votes shy of its own veto-proof vote, but there were also two Republicans absent from the chamber that day.

KSNT News spoke with a pair of Salina Republicans to get their stance on the bill. Rep. Clarke Sanders, R-Salina, says he believes the treatments have permanent consequences, and minors should be protected from them – whether their parents approve or not.

“I don’t think gender-transition science is anywhere near settled,” Sanders said. “I don’t think children whose brains aren’t fully developed should be making these kinds of decisions.”

Rep. Steven K. Howe, R-Salina, also weighed in with the following statement:

Genesis 1:27 (ESV) states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Mankind’s fall into sin tainted that image, and as a person of faith, I cannot support the destruction of that image any further. Children should not be subject to irreversible elective surgeries or to unproven treatments with unknown long term effects. For these reasons I supported House Substitute for Senate Bill 233, and I will also vote to override the Governor’s veto.

Rep. Steven K. Howe, R-Salina

Howe and Sanders both say if the vote comes up, they will vote to override. The bill and potential override are expected to be taken up on Monday, April 29.

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