Kansas lawmakers’ effort to override governor’s veto of gender-affirming care ban fails

Kansas’ state House on Monday failed to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a result celebrated by transgender rights advocates.

Kelly, who vetoed SB 233 earlier this month, applauded the state House’s vote to sustain her veto.

“I am glad that bipartisan members of the legislature have stood firm in saying that divisive bills like House Substitute for Senate Bill 233 have no place in Kansas. The legislature’s decision to sustain my veto is a win for parental rights, Kansas families, and families looking to call our state home,” she said in a statement Monday night.

Kansas’ Republican-controlled Senate on Monday night successfully voted 27-13 to override Kelly’s veto. But, with the Republican-controlled state House voting 82-43, proponents of the bill were just two votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to enact the ban.

CNN has reached out to state House Speaker Dan Hawkins and state Senate President Ty Masterson for comment.

The measure would have banned gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth in Kansas, including estrogen and testosterone hormone therapies, puberty blockers and surgeries — though surgical procedures are rarely performed on children.

Minors receiving puberty blockers and/or estrogen or testosterone would have been allowed to continue their treatment until December 31, 2024, if a physician created a plan to phase out treatment and demonstrated that immediately stopping care would endanger the child.

The measure would have allowed civil lawsuits to be filed against doctors, who could have had their licenses revoked if they provided gender-affirming treatment to a minor and who would not have been covered by their liability insurance for any damages from offering such care.

The bill would also have barred the use of state funds, such as Medicaid, to promote treatments, and state employees would have been prohibited from recognizing a minor’s preferred pronouns if they didn’t match the sex assigned at their birth.

“Blocking SB233 is a victory for transgender kids, their families, and advocates across the state. We are thrilled and relieved, and we remain in awe of this session’s incredible showing of strength, resilience, and solidarity in this community of transgender Kansans and allies,” Micah Kubic, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said in a statement.

A vote to override a veto of a similar Kansas bill last year failed before it reached the state House, with the state Senate voting 26-14. But last year, Kansas’ Republican-controlled Legislature successfully utilized its supermajority to override 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 Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.

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