TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ governor on Friday vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a measure to require more reporting from abortion providers and what she called a “vague” bill making it a crime to coerce someone into having an abortion. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s actions set up a series of confrontations with … Read more
The Democratic-controlled Maine Legislature gave final approval Friday to a bill that would protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought in other states. If signed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, Maine would join more than a dozen states that shield medical providers and others from out-of-state investigations regarding … Read more
AUGUSTA, Maine — Fiery debate over a bill to protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from out-of-state lawsuits crossed a line in the Maine House, leading lawmakers to formally censure a pair of colleagues on Thursday. Rep. Michael Lemelin, R-Chelsea, said the mass shooting last October in Lewiston, Maine, that claimed … Read more
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal appeals court will hear arguments Thursday over Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for minors, as the fight over the restrictions on transgender youths adopted by two dozen states moves closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. Arkansas is appealing a federal judge’s ruling last year that struck down the … Read more
SMITHVILLE, Mo. — Before his transgender daughter was suspended after using the girls’ bathroom at her Missouri high school. Before the bullying and the suicide attempts. Before she dropped out. Before all that, Dusty Farr was — in his own words — “a full-on bigot.” By which he meant that he was eager to steer … Read more
NEW YORK — Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer” continues its troubled run as the country’s most controversial book, topping the American Library Association’s “challenged books” list for a third straight year. Kobabe’s coming-of-age story was published in 2019, and received the library association’s Alex Award for best young adult literature. But it has since … Read more
Last year objections to a Nebraska bill that sought to ban gender-affirming care for anyone under age 19 ground the work of the Legislature to a near standstill. This year supporters of a companion bill restricting transgender students’ access to bathrooms and sports teams waited until the end of the session to advance it for … Read more
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lawmakers have passed a series of bills targeting LGBTQ+ residents this year, including two this week that prevent public employees from being required to use someone’s preferred pronouns and redefine gender as being synonymous with sex. On Wednesday, the Senate approved a bill allowing people to sue schools and libraries over … Read more
LAWRENCE, Kan. — With Kansas poised to ban gender-affirming care for minors, college students are trying counter Republican efforts to roll back transgender rights by pushing the state’s largest university to declare itself a haven for trans youth. The GOP-controlled Legislature approved its proposed ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgeries for minors Wednesday, … Read more
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two families of transgender minors filed a constitutional challenge on Tuesday to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming health care for youth under 18. The litigation, brought in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, alleges the law … Read more
