In a move that has riled up the Republican-supermajority Legislature, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, as well as a bill that aimed to require more reporting from abortion providers and a "vague" bill criminalizing coerced abortions. The governor's actions have set the stage for potential confrontations over these contentious issues.

Governor Laura Kelly, a term-limited Democrat, has long been a strong supporter of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. However, the Republican-controlled Legislature has joined other GOP lawmakers across the country in rolling back transgender rights. While these measures appeared to have sufficient majorities to override the governor's vetoes, their success will depend on the number of absent lawmakers on any given day, especially in the House.

Kansas has been an outlier among states with Republican legislatures when it comes to abortion laws. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court declared that the state constitution protects abortion rights, and a statewide vote in August 2022 reaffirmed that position. "Voters do not want politicians getting between doctors and their patients by interfering in private medical decisions," wrote Governor Kelly in her veto message regarding the abortion reporting bill.

However, Governor Kelly did allow one GOP proposal on a social issue to become law without her signature. Starting July 1, pornography websites will be required to verify that Kansas visitors are adults. This move aligns Kansas with Texas and other states, although concerns about privacy and the broad application of the law have been raised.

Rejecting the attempt to ban or restrict gender-affirming care for minors, Governor Kelly argued that such a ban would infringe upon parental rights and disproportionately affect a small group. The bill, if passed, would have prohibited surgeries, hormone treatments, and puberty blockers for minors, limiting their care to therapy.

Reacting to the veto, Jenna Bellemere, a transgender University of Kansas student, expressed hope that this would be the end of the debate for now. The bill also included provisions revoking licenses of doctors violating the ban and prohibiting recipients of state funds from advocating gender-affirming care for children.

Supporters of the ban claim that it aims to protect children from potentially dangerous and permanent treatments, pointing to the recent decision by the National Health Service in England to no longer routinely cover such treatments. However, major American health care groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have opposed such bans, emphasizing the mental health benefits of providing gender-affirming care to transgender children.

This veto comes as another battle in the ongoing war over social issues between Governor Kelly and the Republican Legislature. Last year, Republicans overrode several of the governor's vetoes to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female K-12 and college sports teams, and to revoke legal recognition of transgender people's gender identities in Kansas.

The Republican lawmakers continue to press for new laws on abortion, despite the voter-approved affirmation of abortion rights in the state. They argue that voters still support "reasonable" regulations and assistance for pregnant women and new mothers. In response to Governor Kelly's veto, anti-abortion group Kansans for Life labeled her "Coercion Kelly" and accused her of lacking compassion for women coerced into having abortions.

The bill criminalizing coerced abortions sought to punish individuals who make physical or financial threats against women or girls to push them into having abortions. Critics contend that the bill's broad language could include situations where a spouse threatens divorce or a live-in partner threatens to leave unless their partner has an abortion.

The proposed abortion reporting bill, meanwhile, would require providers to inquire about the reasons behind a woman or girl's decision to terminate a pregnancy and report that information to the state health department. While supporters argue that it would provide valuable data to shape policy, opponents view it as invasive and unnecessary.

"These stigmatizing bills were not crafted to improve the health and well-being of Kansans," said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. "They were merely meant to shame reproductive care."

Governor Kelly's veto has set the stage for contentious debates and potential showdowns between the governor and the Republican Legislature. It remains to be seen whether they can muster the necessary two-thirds majorities to override the vetoes and implement their proposed policies.