State Court Blocks Kansas Ban on Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Transgender Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2026

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LAWRENCE - A state district court judge today temporarily blocked enforcement of a Kansas law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 18, finding the law likely violates the Kansas state constitution.

“This is an enormous relief to our clients and families across the state of Kansas,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Rights Project. “The medical care unjustly banned by this law serves as the foundation of young transgender people’s entire lives and helps give them the future all young people deserve. Any decision about this medical care should be between families and their doctors, and today’s order from the court restores that fundamental principle. We will continue to challenge this law until Kansas is a safe place to raise every family.”

“Our brave clients invested tremendous effort to represent not only their interests but also the interests of all transgender youth in Kansas,” said Kristen Broz, partner in the Litigation Department of Ballard Spahr. “This was a remarkable team effort from hard-working attorneys from both ACLU and Ballard who devoted their time to achieve this result that will change the lives of many.”

SB 63 prohibits medical providers in the state of Kansas from providing gender-affirming medical treatments, such as hormone therapies and pubertal suppressants, to transgender youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The law allows these same treatments to be provided to cisgender youth for any other reason.

SB 63 was passed by the Kansas state legislature in January of 2025, then vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly, who said in her veto statement, “it is not the job of politicians to stand between a parent and a child who needs medical care of any kind.” The legislature overrode her veto, and SB 63 took effect on February 20, 2025.

In May 2025, Loe v. Kansas was filed by the ACLU and the ACLU of Kansas in the District Court of Douglas County, charging SB 63 with violating the Kansas Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and fundamental rights. The case was filed pseudonymously on behalf of 16-year-old Ryan Roe and his mother, Rebecca Roe as well as 13-year-old Lily Loe and her mother, Lisa Loe.

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About the ACLU of Kansas: The ACLU of Kansas is the statewide affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Kansas is dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For more information, visit our website at www.aclukansas.org.