Kansas became the 27th state to impose limitations on gender-affirming care for minors after Republican lawmakers successfully overturned the Democratic governor’s veto on Tuesday. The law is designed to take effect more quickly than usual — within days or weeks — and mandates that transgender minors currently receiving treatment discontinue care by the end of the year.
“I just held my 16-year-old daughter, and we cried while we watched them try to erase her existence,” a Kansas City-area mother of two transgender children told AP News.
The new law bans minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to transition from their assigned sex at birth. It also restricts state employees who work with children from providing, endorsing or facilitating these treatments, including social transitioning. Additionally, the law blocks state funding for psychological care for transgender youth and prevents liability insurance from covering damages related to gender-affirming care. It also authorizes civil lawsuits against healthcare providers who offer such treatments, mandates professional discipline for them, and classifies violations as unprofessional conduct for physicians.
“People across Kansas fought so hard against this legislation – because we know that no one should be banned from accessing the healthcare that they need and deserve in our home state,” Melissa Stiehler, director of advocacy for Loud Light, an organization that fought against the bill, said in a statement. “We are heartbroken about the pain and chaos that this ban will cause for Kansas families.”
Governor Laura Kelly (D) has consistently opposed restrictions on gender-affirming care, vetoing multiple Republican-led bills in 2023 and 2024 that aimed to ban puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors. However, this time around Republicans capitalized on their control of both chambers to gather the two-thirds majorities required to override the veto, passing the measure with votes of 31-9 in the Senate and 85-34 in the House. According to the Kansas Reflector, the unexpected timing of the votes left Democrats unprepared to fight back.
“Transgender youth, like all people, deserve the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. Kansas politicians tried to take that away when they moved to ban gender-affirming care for youth in 2023 and 2024 – and now, sadly, this ban will become law. But we know our people are stronger than politics,” Taryn Jones, policy director of Equality Kansas, said in a statement.
The decision has drawn strong opposition from medical professionals and LGBTQ advocates, who say it violates the rights of transgender youth and contradicts established medical consensus. In fact, every major medical association, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, supports gender-affirming care and research shows that it significantly improves mental health outcomes and is linked to lower rates of suicide and depression.
“Gender-affirming care for transgender people is best-practice, medically necessary health care. And research has consistently found that receipt of gender-affirming care can significantly improve the lives of people who receive it,” the Human Rights Campaign says in a resource on gender-affirming care.
With the law set to take effect this month, AP News reports that legal challenges from doctors, parents, or both are expected to be filed in state court. However, the constitutionality of similar bans remains unclear, as there is currently a split among federal circuits on this issue. The Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care this summer. Until then, families in states with similar bans may need to travel two to four times a year to access the care they need.
Organizations advocating for transgender rights have pledged financial and logistical support to help affected families access care outside of Kansas. Equality Kansas and the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) announced that the Trans Youth Emergency Project will expand into Kansas, offering one-on-one patient navigation services and emergency grants of $500 — renewable up to four times per year — to assist families traveling out of state for treatment.
“Every day I speak with families of transgender youth who are worried about the future. Many are panicking, unsure of where or when they’ll get the medicine that their child needs to continue leading a healthy, happy life. These laws are cruelly thrusting families into impossible choices, and it is deeply unfair,” said Van Bailey, a patient navigator for CSE’s Trans Youth Emergency Project. “I’m honored that we can provide some measure of relief and support, talking families through their options and reminding them that there’s a whole community behind them, ready to pitch in and help them through this crisis.”
Since its launch in March 2023, the Trans Youth Emergency Project, has provided over $600,000 in emergency grants to 1,200 families and individuals. According to the project, an estimated 38 percent of transgender youth now live in states where gender-affirming care is banned. Projects offering travel assistance, as well as those providing relocation funds, have become lifelines for transgender youth and their families.
In addition to states like Kansas targeting gender-affirming care, including efforts to restrict access across state lines, the federal government has also become increasingly hostile toward transgender rights and healthcare access which has had nation-wide consequences on transgender people. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, he has issued many anti-trans executive orders, one of which seeks to cut federal funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth under 19. In response, some healthcare providers, even in states without restrictions or bans, started limiting access to care.
While federal judges have temporarily blocked the enforcement of this executive order, prompting some hospitals to start offering care again, uncertainty remains as legal challenges continue, leaving many transgender youth and their families in limbo.
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