Lawsuit claims bill that bans gender affirming care for youth is unconstitutional
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) - A suit filed by two Lawrence area families claims a newly ed law that bars gender affirming care for Kansas youth is unconstitutional.
The ACLU of Kansas says that two Douglas County adolescents and their parents filed a challenge in Kansas state court against Senate Bill 63, which was ed earlier in 2025 to bar access to gender-affirming medical treatments for those under the age of 18 who identify as transgender.
ACLU leaders noted that Loe v. Kansas claims the “Help, Not Harm Act” is a violation of the Kansas Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and fundamental rights. The case was filed on behalf of those under the pseudonyms of 16-year-old Ryan and his mother, Rebecca Roe, and 13-year-old Lily and her mother, Lisa Loe.
“Our clients and every Kansan should have the freedom to make their own private medical decisions and consult with their doctors without the intrusion of Kansas politicians,” said D.C. Hiegert, Civil Liberties Legal Fellow for the ACLU of Kansas. “SB 63 is a particularly harmful example of politicians’ overreach and their efforts to target, politicize, and control the healthcare of already vulnerable Kansas families. We are honored to represent our clients in standing up for their constitutional rights and in fighting back against this threat to our communities.”
The text of the bill bars medical providers in the Sunflower State from providing gender-affirming medical treatments like hormone therapy and pubertal suppressants to transgender youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The law allows these same treatments to be provided for any other reason, however.
“Bans like SB 63 have already had catastrophic effects on the families of transgender youth across the country,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “These bans have uprooted many families from the only homes they’ve ever known while forcing many more to watch their young people suffer, knowing a politician stands between them and their family doctor’s best medical judgment. We are determined for every state to be a safe place to raise every family, and that means fighting SB 63 until all transgender Kansans have the freedom to be themselves.”
The organization noted that the law was ed by the state legislature in January but vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly, who said it is not the job of politicians to stand between parents and a child who needs medical care. The legislature overrode that veto as the bill took effect on Feb. 20.
“I look forward to meeting the ACLU in court and defending our Kansas law,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. Once again, the ACLU is attempting to twist the meaning of the Kansas Constitution into something unrecognizable. The Kansas Legislature was well within its authority when it acted to protect Kansas children from these harmful surgeries.”
Kobach further noted that the bill was meant to protect children. The complaint was filed on Wednesday, May 28, and can be found HERE. For more information about the case, click HERE.
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