Kansas Lawmakers Are Considering Banning Trans Youth Care that Acknowledges Gender Again!
CNS News– Kansas transgender and nonbinary youth may regret losing lifesaving medical care if proposed legislation passes, say critics. Two legislative committee bills heard Thursday are state lawmakers’ latest attempt to prevent gender-affirming care for gender dysphoric teens and kids.
Last year, Republicans limited transgender sports participation and state identification gender marker changes but failed to pass similar legislation. The bill promotes transgender rights and gender-affirming care nationwide. At Senate and House committee hearings, transgender Kansans, advocates, and doctors criticized the bills. Wichita Republican health committee chair Brenda Landwehr ejected several for House hearing disruptions.
Wichita transgender Jaelynn Abegg, Landwehr’s 2022 Democratic opponent, said, “If it becomes law, there will be consequences.” “As children begin to die around us, it sickens me that most of this Legislature will be patting themselves on the back with their bloodied red hands,” she said before Landwehr told her to sit.
Kansas teens and kids’ first puberty blocker, hormone replacement therapy, and surgery ban was introduced by Coffeyville Republican Rep. Ron Bryce. Bill supporter Bryce compared the care to lobotomy, a mainstream medical practice before its discreditation.
“The parallel with lobotomy was meant to be disturbing because I feel disturbed about this issue,” Bryce told Shawnee Democrat Rep. Susan Ruiz at the House hearing. In his second bill, Landwehr would ban youth gender-affirming surgeries. Kansas doctors must limit hormone replacement therapy for all ages per the 2017 Endocrine Society journal article clinical practice guidelines.
M-Care transgender nurse practitioner Amanda Mogoi of Wichita says these guidelines are outdated. She added that minors rarely have gender-affirming surgery. She and other medical experts said the restrictions would hurt trans youth, who are marginalized and have higher mental illness and suicide rates.
All major medical groups support gender-affirming care for gender dysphoric youth nationwide. Wichita marriage and family therapist Asher Wickell testified against the first bill, saying it would prevent licensed clinical providers from practicing ethically and drive some out of the state.
He said, “This bill would kill our children and impact our families. This will force your hometown hospital’s doctors, nurses, mental health center therapists, emergency room, and constituents to leave practice or the state. D.C. Hiegert of the ACLU of Kansas says it would violate Kansans’ constitutional rights.
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Hiegert said, “This bill would set a precedent in Kansas that medical providers should give you government-selected care rather than the nationally recommended best care. Many out-of-state bill supporters said gender-affirming medical care for minors is harmful and regrettable. Jamie Reed, former St. Louis gender center worker, supported the center after misprescribing and other issues last year.
Later that year, Missouri lawmakers banned gender-affirming youth care after her allegations. “I saw many children receive so-called gender-affirming care that ended up leading to significant harms and poor outcomes,” she told lawmakers. I worked with Detransitioning patients. I saw radical mastectomy patients regret it within months.
California activist Chloe Cole said hormone replacement therapy and a double mastectomy before 18 scarred her. I was hurt by gender ideology. She said this ideology targets autistic, different, or struggling kids like me with puberty, trauma, and adult identity. “The medical industry must stop exploiting these kids like I have.”
Medical experts said Kansas law requires parental consent for youth medical interventions, and doctors only consider them after mental health care and other support. Though debated after the Legislature’s turnaround deadline, the proposals could pass if substituted for other bills. Senate Republicans failed to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a similar proposal last year.