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........

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