FILE PHOTO: Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly delivers her inaugural address on the steps of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, Kansas, January 14, 2019. Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ governor on Friday vetoed a proposed ban on gender confirmation in care of minors, a measure requiring more reporting from abortion providers and what she called a “vague” bill that would criminalize coercion give someone an abortion.
The actions of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly set off a series of confrontations with the Republican-majority Legislature over the issues. The measures appear to have the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to overcome vetoes, but GOP leaders’ success depends on how many lawmakers are absent on any given day, especially in the House.
The two-term governor, who is term-limited, is a strong supporter of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. Republicans control the legislature and have joined other GOP lawmakers in the US in rolling back transgender rights.
But Kansas is an outlier on abortion among states with Republican legislatures because the Kansas Supreme Court declared in 2019 that the state constitution protects abortion rights, and a statewide vote in August 2022 decisively reaffirmed that position .
“Voters do not want politicians to stand between doctors and their patients by interfering with personal medical decisions,” Kelly wrote in his veto message on the abortion reporting bill.
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Kelly allowed a GOP proposal on a social issue highlighted by Republicans across the US to become law without her signature. Starting July 1, pornographic websites must verify that Kansas visitors are of legal age. Kansas will follow Texas and a handful of other states despite some concerns about privacy and how broadly the law might apply.
Rejecting an attempt to get Kansas to join at least 24 other states in banning or restricting gender-affirming care for minors, Kelly argued that the ban “infringes on parental rights” and targets a “small group.”
“If the Legislature paid as much attention to the other 99.8 percent of students, we would have the best schools on earth,” she wrote.
The Kansas bill against gender-affirming care would ban surgery, hormone treatments and puberty blockers, limiting care for minors to therapy.
“Hopefully this will be the end of it, at least for this year, and they don’t decide to waste anybody’s time anymore,” Jenna Bellemer, a transgender student at the University of Kansas, said after learning of the veto.
The bill would also require the state to revoke the licenses of any doctors who violate the ban and prohibit recipients of state child care funds or state officials who work with children from advocating for gender-affirming care for them. It would prohibit the use of state dollars and property for such care, which limits the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Supporters of the bill argue that the ban would protect children from experimental, possibly dangerous and potentially permanent treatments. They cited the recent decision by the NHS in England to no longer routinely cover such treatments. Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said of Kelly, “The radical left controls her veto pen.”
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“Laura Kelly will certainly find herself on the wrong side of history with her reckless veto of this common sense protection for Kansas minors,” said Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita.
But US state bans run counter to recommendations from major US health groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, many medical professionals say that providing such care makes transgender children less prone to depression or suicidal thoughts.
Last year, Republican lawmakers overrode Kelly’s veto of a ban on transgender girls and women on women’s K-12 and college sports teams and ended the state’s legal recognition of transgender people’s gender identities. Because of the latest law, Kansas no longer allows transgender people to change the gender listing on their driver’s licenses or birth certificates.
Republican lawmakers also continue to push for new abortion laws despite the August 2022 vote, arguing that voters still support “reasonable” regulations and support for pregnant women and women giving birth.
“Once again Governor ‘Coercion Kelly’ has shown how radical she is when it comes to abortion by lacking basic compassion for women who are coerced or even trafficked into having abortions,” Daniel Underwood, spokesperson for Kansans for Life, on – the state’s most influential anti-abortion group, said in a statement.
The anti-coercion bill would punish someone convicted of physically or financially threatening a woman or girl to induce her to have an abortion with up to a year in prison or a fine of up to $10,000. In his veto message, Kelly noted that it is now a crime to threaten someone else.
Critics said it was written broadly enough to apply to a spouse threatening divorce or a live-in boyfriend threatening to leave unless their partner had an abortion.
The reporting bill would require providers to ask their patients why they want to terminate their pregnancy and report the information to the state health department. Kelly and other critics say it’s invasive and unnecessary, but supporters say the state needs better data on why women and girls get abortions to help shape policy.
“These stigmatizing bills were not created to improve the health and well-being of Kansas residents,” said Emily Wells, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates three abortion clinics in Kansas. “They were just out to embarrass reproductive care.”
