MADISON, Wis. – Today, Governor Tony Evers vetoed a GOP bill that would ban life-saving gender affirming care for youth in Wisconsin. The veto comes as state Republicans continue to push legislation that puts themselves in charge of personal healthcare decisions – this time unjustly targeting LGBTQ+ youth.
“We appreciate Gov. Evers standing with leading medical experts, doctors, and LGBTQ+ youth in vetoing this blatant GOP attack on Wisconsin’s LGBTQ+ community and health care in general,” said A Better Wisconsin Together Executive Director Chris Walloch.
Doctors and medical experts agree that gender affirming care bans, like the one Gov. Evers vetoed today, have irreversible harmful impacts on LGBTQ+ communities – and study after study has shown that when kids are able to be authentically themselves through access to gender affirming care, it saves lives.
“Instead of focusing on the things that we know promote healthy experiences for Wisconsin kids – like the freedom to have a say in healthcare decisions that impact their lives – the right-wing lawmakers who introduced the now vetoed ban on gender affirming care are trying to use Wisconsin kids as political tools meant to distract and divide,” Walloch added. “But with his veto pen, Gov. Evers has said loud and clear that Wisconsin will not stand for it.”
For more information on why access to gender affirming care is essential for LGBTQ+ youth, check out A Better Wisconsin Together’s full-length interview with Wisconsin Family Medicine physician Dr. Melissa Hidde.
Call your legislator today at 1-800-362-9472 to demand they stop meddling in Wisconsinites’ healthcare decisions and instead take action on issues that matter to local families – like child care, paid leave, clean water, and fully funded public schools.
