Kansas lawmakers are trying to ban gender-affirming care for minors after several failed attempts. 

The proposal would ban puberty blockers, hormone treatments and gender-affirming surgeries, which are rare. State funds couldn’t be used for these operations and state agencies or employees couldn’t promote gender-affirming care for minors. 

Republicans keep reviving the proposal because they say minors shouldn’t be making these life-altering decisions. They argue this bill protects children, and the care is still available to people after they turn 18. 

If the bill is passed, Kansans would have time to slowly wean off treatment because the ban wouldn’t officially start until 2026. 

“We want these children to get the caring mental therapy that they need,” said Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican, in a past debate. “We often pass bills in this Legislature to protect Kansans. We’re on the right side of history on this.”

Chloe Cole went through a gender transition and regretted it. She said she was rushed through the process by a doctor who ignored “her deeper issues.” But Cole didn’t transition in Kansas, and opponents of the bill say her experiences in California don’t align with current practice in Kansas. 

Cole is a rare case of someone who regrets their transition. 

A 2023 Associated Press article looked at 27 different studies. On average, only 1% of people regret their transition. 

Transitioning also reduces depression and suicide in patients. A study of 104 transgender and nonbinary youth between 13 and 20 years old found that gender-affirming care brings a 60% drop in moderate or severe depression. Those young people were also 73% less likely to be suicidal. 

Gender-affirming care is supported by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and the American Medical Association. Doctors warn that delaying this care could only lead to more problems. 

Anthony Alvarez began transitioning at 16 in Kansas. Alvarez was happier and more confident because of the medical care. It was lifesaving. 

“It pains me to imagine that other young Kansans, one day, might not have this care available,” Alvarez said at a Tuesday hearing. “Receiving gender-affirming care as a minor … were lifesaving interventions that allowed me to begin my adult life.”

Passing this ban is a top priority for Republicans. 

Kansas lawmakers held two hearings on the bill Tuesday, one in a House committee and another in a Senate committee. 

They will likely have the votes to send it to Gov. Laura Kelly, who is expected to veto the bill as she has done with past proposals. Conservatives have more seats in the Kansas Legislature this year, but past attempts to override a Kelly veto have failed because enough Republicans continue to break party lines and join Democrats in killing the bill. 

If passed, the bill could run into a lawsuit. 

D.C. Heigert, a civil liberties fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said the Kansas Supreme Court has already ruled that Kansans have the right to bodily autonomy. That ruling was for abortion, but Heigert argues it applies here. 

This bill “poses an unprecedented threat to Kansas families by banning the only evidence-based health care options available for youth experiencing gender dysphoria,” Heigert said. “It violates Kansans’ constitutional rights to personal autonomy.”