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(CNN) Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday vetoed a Republican-led bill that would bar transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care, including surgical procedures and the use of certain hormones. , opposed the growing tendency of states to restrict access to treatment.
Republican state legislators passed the bill last week, arguing that children should not be allowed to make such crucial decisions and that the ban protects minors.
But Beshear warned in his Power of Veto message that a ban on gender-affirming care, long emphasized by LGBTQ advocates, would “endanger children in Kentucky.”
“Senate Bill 150 allows the government to interfere excessively in private health care matters and robs parents of the freedom to make medical decisions for their children,” the governor added in a statement.
The Republican-majority legislature could revoke Beshear, something legislators did after the governor vetoed an anti-transsports ban in the state last year. Still, Beshear’s efforts stand in contrast to the governors of Georgia and Iowa, who signed measures earlier this week to limit minors’ access to gender-confirmation care.
Gender-confirmed care is medically necessary, evidence-based care that uses an interdisciplinary approach to transition from assigned gender (assigned at birth) to confirmed gender (preferred gender). We help you transition. to be known.
When SB 150 is enacted, healthcare providers will be asked to either stop treatment or establish a timeline for ending treatment for patients already receiving gender-confirmed care. The bill also aims to prevent schools from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with students of all ages and to allow educators to refuse to refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns. increase.
Beshear argued that the bill would “increase youth suicide in Kentucky.”
The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, has noted the high suicide rate among LGBTQ youth.
“Last year, nearly half of Kentucky’s LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide. Surprisingly, nearly one in four of the state’s transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide. ” previously told CNN. “Our leaders are pushing political wedges to sidestep real challenges such as addressing the youth mental health crisis.”
However, supporters of the bill argue that it is “the right thing to do for these children.”
“To protect our children, we need to make sure that the surgeries and drugs that completely change their lives and their bodies should not be allowed until they are adults who can make their own choices.” Republicans of Congressman David Meade.
Several states, including Tennessee, Mississippi, Utah and South Dakota, enacted laws this year restricting minors’ access to gender-affirming care.
Additionally, more than 80 similar bills had been introduced across the country by early last month, according to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union and shared by CNN.
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.
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