Kentucky Bans Gender Affirming Care for Transgender Youth

On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled Kentucky legislature overturned a Democratic governor’s veto over a broad anti-trans bill targeting various aspects of the lives of transgender youth. This ranges from access to gender-affirming care to the ability to use toilets that suit you. gender identity.

Republicans in the state legislature and the Senate successfully bypassed Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto on the penultimate day of Congress. Transgender Youth Researcher”.

SB150 — Dubbed the “omnibus anti-trans” bill, one of the most radical bills in the country by opponents — under the guise of parental rights, it imposes many restrictions on the autonomy of transgender youth. It also bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and gives teachers the right to refuse to use correct pronouns for transgender students.

Most of the bill will go into effect immediately, and the ban on gender-affirming care will begin in late June, but advocates have suggested they plan to file lawsuits to block it by the summer. .

At the outset of Wednesday’s debate on overriding the veto, Republican Senator Max Wise, the bill’s sponsor, said, “The goal is to increase parental involvement and communication in children’s education while keeping them safe.” It is to strengthen the

The bill passed after more than 470 anti-LGBTQ bills have been submitted to the state legislature so far this year, according to the legislature. human rights campaignLate Wednesday, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed the bill More than a dozen states have banned and restricted gender-affirming care.

The law, which runs counter to the recommendations of all major medical associations, is just one of several anti-transgender bills introduced in Kentucky.

Among them is State Senator Karen Berg, who has spent months telling her colleagues since the December suicide of her transgender rights advocate, son Henry Berg-Brousseau, that young people into gender-affirming care. have fervently pleaded to protect access to

Berg, a Democrat and doctor, read the last news release his son wrote for the human rights campaign, where he was deputy press secretary. , Berg recalled saying, “Mom, this is getting really scary.”

Before the Senate, Berg asked a colleague. To say that this is a bill to protect children is utterly disingenuous. To call this the parental rights bill is a gross insult to me personally. ”