transgender

Many transgender people seeking gender-affirming and other medical care in rural areas have to educate their doctors about their needs — if they can find supportive health providers at all.

Kansas SB12 would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to teens and adults under the age of 21. Critics say it would harm transgender youth.

Republican Derek Schmidt says a new law is needed to make sports reserved for girls and women fair. But Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who twice vetoed such a bill, says it's not a real issue.

The state is appealing the decision by a Texas judge to stop investigations into families of trans youth.

Republicans in the Kansas Legislature this year fell short of overriding Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a measure blocking transgender people from taking part in athletic teams designated for girls or women. Schmidt urged the Legislature to pass the same bill again.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leaders instructed employees to avoid written communications about the cases and barred low-level employees from handling the investigations, according to internal agency communications.

The ACLU and Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit on behalf of three families currently under investigation, as well as more than 600 Texas-based members of PFLAG, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ families.

State legislatures around the country have been trying to prevent transgender girls and women from competing with their peers. How that's playing out in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa depends on politics and people.

Lawyers representing families under investigation said they heard from the agency Thursday about continuing the investigations that had previously been halted by a statewide injunction.

State Rep. Stephanie Byers has endured a session in which Republicans tried to pass bills curbing rights of trans kids and a fellow lawmaker complained about sharing a restroom with her.