Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Ban on Transgender Health Care
exceptions for intersex children or children with hormonal deficiencies, who would still be allowed to receive the exact same therapies that are prohibited for transgender children.Critics of such provisions say it exposes the hypocrisy of bills restricting gender-affirming care, in that only children identifying as transgender are targeted, while intersex children are instead “forced” to conform to a certain binary gender presentation for the comfort of larger society.Additionally, intersex children are often subjected to surgical interventions when they are just days old — which not only eliminates a patient’s ability to consent, but may increase a minor’s gender dysphoria if doctors and parents choose a gender presentation that does not match their gender identity.The ban on gender-affirming care was passed by Republicans in October, along with two other bills targeting transgender participation in high school and collegiate sports.
At the time, Evers threatened to veto any measure targeting the LGBTQ community, as reported by AM news radio outlet WTMJ.“This type of legislation, and the rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBTQ people and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ hate and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites,” Evers wrote in his veto message.
