Kansas committee hears hours of testimony on HB 2071, the "Help Not Harm" Act to restrict gender‑affirming care for minors

The Committee on House Health and Human Services heard hours of testimony on House Bill 2071, the "Help Not Harm Act," a proposal that would generally prohibit medical and surgical gender‑transition treatments for children and create civil causes of action and professional discipline for providers who give such treatments. Proponents, opponents and several medical witnesses presented competing evidence and personal accounts.

The bill, described in the committee as House Bill 2071, would prohibit health care providers from prescribing puberty blockers or cross‑sex hormones to minors except in limited cases; prohibit use of state funds to pay for, subsidize or promote social transitioning, medication or surgery for minors; permit parents and children to sue for damages; prohibit professional liability policies from covering damages for providers who violate the statute; and add violation of the act to the Board of Healing Arts' definition of unprofessional conduct. The reviser of statutes' office told the committee the bill would take effect July 1, 2025, and that the bill contains a narrow exception for individuals born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development and a limited grandfathering provision allowing some treatments started before the bill's effective date to continue only under an approved reduction plan until Dec. 31,…