Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 63 on Tuesday, a controversial piece of legislation that sought to ban gender-affirming medical treatments, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, for minors. The bill, dubbed the “Help Not Harm Act,” also aimed to define sex as a biological binary and restrict state funds from being used to promote or provide gender transition treatments for children.
“Right now, the legislature should be focused on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices,” Kelly said in a statement emailed late Tuesday. “That is the most important issue for Kansans. That is where my focus is.”
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The veto has reignited a heated debate over the rights of transgender youth, parental authority, and the role of government in regulating medical care. Supporters of the bill argue it protects children from irreversible medical interventions, while opponents say it denies essential healthcare to vulnerable minors and infringes on the rights of families and medical professionals.
Senate Bill 63 would have prohibited healthcare providers from administering gender-affirming treatments to minors whose gender identity does not align with their biological sex. The bill defined sex as “the biological indication of male and female in the context of reproductive potential or capacity,” including chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia present at birth.
Key provisions of the bill included:
- Banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors.
- Prohibiting state funds from being used to promote or provide gender transition treatments.
- Allowing individuals who received such treatments as minors to sue healthcare providers for damages within 10 years of turning 18.
- Revoking the medical licenses of providers who violate the law.
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Kelly’s decision aligns with her previous vetoes of similar bills, including a 2023 measure banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. Her latest veto has drawn praise from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and medical organizations, which argue that gender-affirming care is evidence-based and essential for the well-being of transgender youth.
Critics of the veto, including the bill’s Republican sponsors and conservative advocacy groups, argue that the legislation is necessary to protect children from irreversible medical procedures.
Matt Sharp, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), expressed disappointment in the veto. “By vetoing this critical legislation, Gov. Kelly ignored biological reality and the growing body of evidence about the damage that these drugs and surgeries inflict on children’s minds and bodies,” Sharp said. “Children who experience discomfort with their sex need the loving embrace of family, not risky drugs and life-altering procedures that send them down a one-way path of lifetime medicalization.”
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Sharp urged the Kansas Legislature to override the veto, a move that would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Republicans hold a supermajority in the state Senate but are a few votes short in the House, making an override attempt uncertain.
Kansas is among more than a dozen states that have introduced or passed laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors in recent years.
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