Governor of Kansas Laura Kelly, vetoes bills prohibiting gender-identity health care for transgender youth. Kelly said Senate Bill 233 is an attack on a small number of minors in Kansas. The governor explained that it is not a Kansas value to block medical professionals from performing surgery, or prescribing puberty blockers.
This bill is one of the few bills the GOP dominated state legislature has failed to enact. State Representatives Susan Conannon and Jesse Borjon previously voted to pass the bill, but voted against overturning Kellys veto. Hospitals in Kansas told Concannon and Borjon that if the state banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, they would be forced to halt behavioral and mental health services for at-risk kids. They both said they could not allow mental health services for Kansas children to be cut. This shows the importance of constituents reaching out to their lawmakers.
