Supporters of the proposal argued minors were too young to make decisions regarding hormone therapy or transition surgery, even in consultation with parents and physicians. Instead, they said, youth with gender dysphoria, a condition common among transgender individuals, should be treated for mental health concerns and allowed to transition after turning 18.

“The bias, as some people call it, is predicated on fear, fear of the unknown, and there is still a lot we don’t know about what we’re embarking on, particularly with minors,” said Rep. John Eplee, an Atchinson Republican and a family physician. He said that transition treatment was “somewhat of a trend” in the medical field.

“It’s time for us to say whether we want to slow that down or put a check on it or a balance on it.”

Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson Republican and anesthesiologist, compared hormone therapy and transition surgeries to the use of lobotomies in the 1940s and 1950s to treat mental health disorders.

“It is our utter and complete responsibility to protect these children from being disfigured permanently via medications or surgery,” he said.

But providers of hormone therapy and transition surgery say no patient jumps into gender-affirming care lightly. Extensive mental health care is provided to transgender youth before they begin puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Surgery, they say, is rare among minors in Kansas.

Amanda Mogoi, a nurse practitioner who provides gender-affirming care in Wichita, said the policy would block meaningful conversations between transgender youth and physicians about the best way to move forward. She worries about the future for her young patients if their medications are taken away from them.

“The truth is that these are life-saving medications,” she said.

The bill is likely to be challenged in court. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas has said repeatedly it would violate protections for bodily autonomy in the Kansas state constitution. But in the meantime LGBTQ Kansans have warned it will harm transgender youth currently in the state.

“When you pass legislation like this, you are holding the knife that is hurting kids,” said Iridescent Riffel, a transgender woman from Lawrence.

_____

©2024 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.