By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern
Two Kentucky Democrats filed a bill this week seeking to undo a law that bans gender affirming medical care for transgender minors.
Senate Bill 150 passed the general assembly in 2023. Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed the bill, but the Republican supermajority overruled his veto, and the bill became law.
As a result, Kentucky now bans treatments like hormones for transgender minors. It also bans surgeries like phalloplasty, vaginoplasty or hysterectomies and vasectomies on transgender children.
Reps. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, and Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, file HB 376 to overthrow Kentucky’s ban on gender affirming medical care for transgender minors. (Photo provided)
Neither the American Civil Liberties Union nor Kentucky LGBTQ+ organizations have taken issue with the surgery ban, but have fought other parts of the law in court.
After a series of rulings that left Kentucky’s ability to enforce the law up in the air, the ACLU filed a petition for a certiorari in November asking the United States Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court’s decision allowing enforcement.
“No child should have to advocate for not only their basic rights but their very identity,” one of the sponsors, Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, said in a statement. “Furthermore, a law that strips children’s healthcare decisions from parents, trusted family doctors, and mental health professionals represents a gross overreach from state government.”
Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, joined Stalker in the filing of House Bill 376, which proposes striking much of the language in SB150. HB376 would also allow students to use locker and shower rooms that align with their gender identity, striking language that restricted those facilities to those with a singular biological sex.
“Our singular goal is to eliminate laws that perpetuate harm and hinder the progress of citizens based on their identity and relationships,” Camuel said in a statement. “We are dedicated and unified in an effort to promote equality and justice for everyone.”
