MADISON, WI (WSAU) – Governor Tony Evers vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have made it illegal to perform irreversible transgender surgeries and hormone procedures on minors.
According to the Daily Wire, the bill, which passed the Republican-controlled state legislature, would have banned procedures like double mastectomies on girls who identify as boys and given children puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
“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 said after vetoing the bill. “I will veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids.”
“While the governor’s veto of this legislation is certainly not surprising, it serves as a stark reminder of just how out of touch with reality Governor Evers is,” Republican state Sen. Duey Stroebel said. “Protecting children from invasive and irreversible medical interventions is the right thing to do from both a scientific and ethical standpoint.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos also criticized Evers’ veto, claiming it was a mistake, saying, “Evers made another harmful mistake. Such a life-altering decision should be made when you’re an adult, not a child. Many countries, including Norway, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, do not allow for gender transition surgery before the age of 18,” he said in a post on X.
The Daily Wire further reported that more than 20 states have enacted legislation in recent years that shields minors from primary transgender treatments. The laws have been challenged by left-wing aligned legal groups, with varying degrees of success, including the ACLU asking the Supreme Court to hear their case on Tennessee’s statute after losing its lawsuit before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
