Kansas governor vetoes bill against gender reassignment procedures for minors

Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, vetoed a bill promoted by the Republican-majority one to ban chemical treatments and sex-change surgeries on minors.

Through a statement, Kelly said it is "disappointing" that the vast majority of state congressmen "continue to push for government interference in Kansans’ private medical decisions instead of focusing on issues that improve all Kansans."

"It is not the job of politicians to stand between a parent and a child who needs medical care of any kind," the Kansas governor added before enacting her veto of the initiative, without giving clinical or technical reasons specifying her position and as if opposing this measure were not a political decision.

The bill, introduced by the Republican Party, was backed by a large majority of the Kansas Senate, garnering the affirmative vote of 32 congressmen. Only eight were against it.

Later, the initiative passed the state House of Representatives, where it also won majority support: 85 votes in favor to 35 against. Had it garnered one more affirmative vote, Kelly would not have had the authority to veto it.

This decision comes weeks after Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban sex-change surgeries and chemical treatments on children under 19, blocking federal funding for these procedures. The president stated that these practices "will represent a stain on the nation's history."