Kansas’ Republican-controlled legislature has advanced a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors to the governor’s desk.
The Senate voted 27-13 on Wednesday after the House voted 82-39 earlier in the day to advance the measure.
The measure now awaits a decision from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed a similar measure last year. GOP lawmakers were then unable to override the governor’s veto. The state Senate passed the bill Wednesday with a veto-proof majority while the House, which had multiple absences, was two votes shy. Two absent Republican state representatives previously voted in favor of the legislation.
With the passage, Kansas joins at least 20 states that have moved to curb gender-affirming care for minors as transgender rights have become a marquee issue for the Republican Party. Several legal challenges over such restrictions are playing out across the country, which has placed intense pressure on the Supreme Court to step into the charged debate.
The measure would ban gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth in Kansas, including puberty blockers and surgeries, though surgical procedures are rarely performed on children.
Gender-affirming care spans a range of evidence-based treatments and approaches that benefit transgender and nonbinary people. The types of care vary by the age and goals of the recipient and are considered the standard of care by many mainstream medical associations.
The legislation would allow health care providers to phase out treatment by the end of the year for any minors currently receiving care — a provision added after a back-and-forth over multiple conferences. However, providers would first be required to demonstrate that immediately stopping care would endanger the child and create a plan to phase out treatment.
The measure would also allow civil lawsuits to be filed against doctors, who would have their licenses revoked if they provide gender-affirming treatment to a minor and be held liable for any “physical, psychological, emotional or physiological harms” until the minor turns 28 years of age. Doctors’ liability insurance would be prohibited from covering damages that stem from offering such treatment.
The bill would also bar the use of state funds, such as Medicaid, to promote treatments and state employees would be prohibited from recognizing a minor’s preferred pronouns if it doesn’t match the sex assigned at their birth.
Kansas Democrats have slammed the bill as an infringement on the rights of transgender people while state Republicans contend that it is a measure to protect kids – arguments that align with how both parties nationally have tackled the hot-button issue.
This measure expands previous efforts by the GOP-controlled legislature that tackle transgender rights. Last year, Kansas lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto to enact an anti-trans sports ban, which prohibits trans women and girls in the state from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender from kindergarten through college.
CNN’s Jack Forrest and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
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