Kansas Governor Protects Trans Care For Minors; Georgia Eyes Trans Adults
It's the third time in a row that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill to ban gender-affirming care for youths. Plus: New England’s second-largest city has passed a resolution to declare itself a sanctuary for transgender people.
The Hill:
Kansas Gov. Kelly Vetoes Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Kansas’s Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a proposal to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth for the third consecutive year, setting up another battle with the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature that has previously failed to overrule her on the issue. Kansas’s Senate Bill 63 would broadly prevent health care professionals from providing gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery, to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria — the severe psychological distress that stems from a mismatch between a person’s gender identity and sex at birth. (Migdon, 2/11)
AP:
Georgia Senate Bill Would Cut Funding For Adult Gender-Affirming Care, But It May Have Cloudy Future
Georgia’s state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would cut off public funding for gender-affirming care for adults, but the future of the legislation remains cloudy in the state House, one illustration of how the Republican-controlled swing state has been slow to join the blizzard of laws targeting transgender people. Senators voted 33-19 to pass Senate Bill 39, which would bar state money for gender-affirming care in state employee and university health insurance plans, Medicaid and the prison system. (Amy, 2/11)
NBC News:
New York Doctor Says He'll Continue Providing Transition Care Despite Trump Executive Order
A New York City doctor said he will continue providing gender-affirming treatments to his patients younger than 19 despite President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to ban such care, because, the doctor said, these patients’ lives depend on it. “Until somebody calls me away, I’m just going to keep doing it,” said Dr. Jeffrey Birnbaum, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist. He doesn’t think that will happen, he added, noting that New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement Monday telling doctors that state law requires them to continue providing such care. (Yurcaba, Herzberg and Gosk, 2/11)
The Boston Globe:
Worcester City Council Taking Up Sanctuary Resolution For Transgender Community
The Worcester City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night to make New England’s second-largest city a “sanctuary” jurisdiction for the transgender community, a proposal that cites President Trump’s executive order limiting the federal government’s gender recognition to male and female. Over nearly three hours, councilors heard from dozens of residents who overwhelmingly supported declaring Worcester “a sanctuary city for transgender and gender diverse people.” (Andersen and Alanez, 2/12)
The Marshall Project:
How Trump's Trans Order Sows Chaos For Federal Prisoners, Staff
First, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care. Then, in response to a lawsuit from prisoners, a judge temporarily blocked the order. The result, say employees and incarcerated transgender people, has been chaos and uncertainty as policies are adopted and applied unevenly throughout the federal prison system. (Schwartzapfel, 2/11)
