Kansas Republicans just brought the state one step closer to denying care to trans minors

Trans rights in Kansas took a massive hit on Monday when the Kansas Senate voted to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of S.B. 233, an anti-trans bill that stops trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care. 

The bill is the latest of Republicans in the Kansas legislature’s attempts to restrict trans rights. Earlier this year, a judge ruled that trans people may not update the gender listed on their driver’s licenses.

Related:

Kansas poised to become 25th state to ban gender-affirming care for minors

The state legislature is expected to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

The state senate voted 27-13 to override the veto. S.B. 233 bans hormone therapy and other medical treatments that would provide gender-affirming care to anyone younger than 18. State employees engaging in “social transitioning,” when an individual changes their preferred pronouns and way that they dress to match their gender identity, is also banned under the bill. 

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Doctors and medical professionals would lose their license swere they to provide gender-affirming treatment, and parents could sue them up until the child which received the care was 28 years old.

The bill still needs to pass a vote in the Kansas House of Representatives, where 84 of the 125 members would need to vote “yes” on overriding the veto. On March 27, the House passed the bill 82-39, with two Republicans and two Democrats absent from the session. Currently, Republican state Sens. John Doll and Carolyn McGinn join the Democrats in opposing S.B. 233. 

“We need to find one more Republican with a spine,” said state Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen (D).

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes (D) spoke in favor of the bill on behalf of trans Kansans who require gender-affirming care. She also referenced research that shows access to gender-affirming care and a safe environment reduce suicide and mental health risks for trans children. 

“So for our transgender community, I will say there are some, who, we are in your camp,” Sykes said. “We may not understand all the complexities that you go through, but you have a place in this state. And we accept you and we cherish you. And regardless of where this vote goes, there is someone who is here, who cares.”

Republicans responded that the bill stops minors from making decisions that they may end up regretting. 

“No more than we would ever tell somebody with anorexia that they’re fat would we tell a boy that they’re a girl or girl that they’re a boy,” said Republican state Sen. Mark Steffen.

Senators opposing the bill have looked to extensive research which shows transgender children are more at risk of suicide when they do not have access to gender-affirming care. 

This is something state Sen. Mary Ware (D) pointed out to her Republican colleagues. 

“What is the acceptable number of youth suicides?” she asked during the session.

“This bill ignores, or should I say tramples, on the rights of some Kansas citizens to live peaceably, lawfully and free to make their own decisions about their own bodies,” Ware said.

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