Democrat Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vetoed a bill banning minors from being placed on puberty blockers and hormones, claiming these are “basic medical decisions.”
Luckily, the governor’s veto did not stick as the Republicans have a supermajority and were able to override him.
Beshear discussed the legislation during a press conference last week, during which he ignored the fact that these “treatments” can leave children permanently sterilized, cause increased bone density, and cause “lower self-esteem and increased risk tasking,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“What they took away are basic medical decisions for parents to be able to make,” Beshear said of the Republican-led legislation, claiming that Republicans were taking away parental choice.
According to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, Beshear’s Republican challenger, Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron, said that he would not have hesitated to sign the bill.
“Even many liberal European countries are putting the brakes on these surgeries and gender therapies for minors. Meanwhile in America, Democrats call it extreme to oppose chemical castration and gender mutilation of minors,” Cameron said. “That is not care—it’s irreversible and is the exact opposite of how we should support children experiencing gender dysphoria or mental health struggles.”
The report added that “during the press conference [Beshear] also accused Republicans of focusing on ‘some of the most extreme areas that don’t happen.’ As Senate Bill 150 advanced through the state legislature, however, some Kentucky doctors revealed that they treat hundreds of patients under the age of 18 with puberty blockers and hormone therapy.”