FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s Democratic governor issued an election-year veto Friday of a Republican bill aimed at regulating the lives of transgender youths that includes banning access to gender-transition health care and restricting the bathrooms they can use.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Andy Beshear vetoes Senate Bill 150 which would ban access to gender-affirming health care

  • Lawmakers will reconvene next week for the final two days of this year’s session, when they could vote to override the veto

  • The bill also bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and allows teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns

Senate Bill 150 also bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and allows teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use. It easily passed the GOP-led legislature with veto-proof margins, and lawmakers will reconvene next week for the final two days of this year’s session, when they could vote to override the veto.

“I heard from children that believed that this bill is picking on them and asking in many ways why,” Beshear said. “And I told them that, I was going to show them that there is at least one person in Frankfort that cares for all of our children in the Commonwealth no matter what.”

The veto by Gov. Andy Beshear comes as he seeks reelection to a second term this year in Republican-trending Kentucky, and his veto could reverberate through the November election.

In his veto message, Beshear cited his faith and government overreach as the main factors in his decision.

"Senate Bill 150 allows too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children," he said, adding that, "My faith teaches that all children are children of God, and Senate Bill 150 will endanger the children of Kentucky."

Shortly after Beshear's veto, the Republican Party of Kentucky blasted the incumbent as a "radical" and attempted to connect him to "left-wing special interests."Once this campaign is over, today may very well be remembered as the day Andy Beshear lost his bid for re-election."

"Is Andy Beshear the Governor of Kentucky or California? Despite years of attempting to look like a moderate, he has shown that he will never stand up to the special left-wing interests that bankroll his campaign," the organization said in a press release.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron, one of the leading candidates in the GOP gubernatorial primary, said he would've signed the measure if he were in power. Cameron also took a joint shot at Beshear and Kentucky news organizations, accusing the latter of "shameful gaslighting" on the issue that is "endangering children."

The ACLU of Kentucky praised Beshear's action as one that would "protect life-saving gender-affirming care in Kentucky, though they contended the veto would likely be overridden.

"By vetoing this hateful legislation, Governor Beshear has demonstrated his commitments to protect Kentucky parents’ rights to raise their children as they see fit, and to keep medical decisions where they belong: between providers and patients," the ACLU said in a statement.

The legislation in Kentucky is part of a national movement, with state lawmakers approving extensive measures that restrict the rights of LGBTQ people this year, from bills targeting trans athletes and drag performers to measures limiting gender-affirming care.

In Kentucky, the expanded version that reached Beshear’s desk was rushed through both legislative chambers in a matter of hours March 16 before lawmakers began an extended break. The fast-track work enabled lawmakers to keep their ability to override the governor’s veto. The action triggered outrage and tears among opponents unable to stop the legislation.

“We know that this bill is going to cause an increase in suicide, I can’t be a part of that,” Beshear said.  “We ought to be in the suicide prevention business, so my hope is when it goes back (to the legislature) that people will think about it and think about it really hard, about what it means and parent’s rights, tearing them away, and what it could mean in a loss of some of our children.” 

Lawmakers have until the end of Tuesday to override the governor’s veto.

The repackaged measure would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. It would outlaw gender reassignment surgery for anyone under 18, as well as the use of puberty blockers and hormones, and inpatient and outpatient gender-affirming hospital services.

Doctors would have to set a timeline to “detransition” children already taking puberty blockers or undergoing hormone therapy. They could continue offering care as they taper a youngster’s treatments, if removing them from the treatment immediately could harm the child.

Such treatments have long been available in the United States and are endorsed by major medical associations.

The bill would not allow schools to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age.

Another key provision would require school districts to devise bathroom policies that, “at a minimum,” would not allow transgender children to use the bathroom aligned with their gender identities.

It also would allow teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use and would require schools to notify parents when lessons related to human sexuality are going to be taught.

After the bill passed the legislature, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky warned that it “stands ready” to challenge the measure in court if it becomes law.

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