Kansas is close to banning gender-affirming care as former GOP holdouts come aboard

Republican legislators in Kansas are close to banning gender-affirming care for minors over the Democratic governor’s expected veto after winning over previously skeptical GOP colleagues, fueling fears that success will encourage further attempts to roll back transgender rights. The Republican-controlled state Senate is expected to approve a bill Thursday that would bar health care providers from treating a child’s gender dysphoria with puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgery and strip doctors who violate the ban of their licenses. Kansas lawmakers attempted to pass a ban last year, but couldn’t muster the two-thirds majorities to override Kelly’s veto.