Wisconsin's Democratic Governor Vetoes Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, Wednesday vetoed a bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors.

“I promised I would veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less a welcoming place for LGBTQ folks and kids — and I keep my promises,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

He also issued a veto message. “I object to restricting physicians from providing evidence-based and medically appropriate care to their patients, restricting parents from making medical decisions with physicians to ensure their kids receive the healthcare they need, and preventing patients from receiving that basic, life-saving care,” he wrote.

He added that he objects to “the Legislature’s ongoing efforts to perpetuate false, hateful, and discriminatory anti-LGBTQ policies and rhetoric in our state. 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 Wisconsinites.”

The Wisconsin Senate and Assembly, both of which have Republican majorities, passed the bill in October. They may try to override Evers’s veto, but they lack the two-thirds majorities required to succeed. However, the presence of all Democratic lawmakers would be key to preventing an override.

Evers held a closed-door veto ceremony in his office Wednesday, joined by about 80 opponents of the legislation. He called it the “biggest veto” crowd he’d ever had, Wisconsin Watch reports.

“This was obviously a bill that was begging for a veto … messing with people’s lives,” he said at the ceremony. Afterward, he told Wisconsin Watch he believed his veto would not be overridden, but “we’re not gonna take anything for granted.”

“Best practice standards of care for trans youth are supported by every major medical association in the country, and bans on that care have been opposed by those same medical associations. The authors of these bills know this, yet they still fast-tracked them to a committee hearing and a floor vote, where they passed along party lines," Megin McDonnell, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, a statewide LGBTQ+ rights group, said in a statement. "[Evers] knows the incredible harm that these bills would cause if they were to become law, and he has repeatedly pledged to veto any legislation that makes Wisconsin a less safe place for LGBTQ+ youth. Governor Evers has kept his promise. His veto is a reminder that you and every trans person belongs in Wisconsin.”

Governors have vetoed similar bills in five other states — Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and North Carolina. The vetoes have been overridden in all but Kansas. These bills have become law in 21 states in all. The Arkansas law has been struck down by a federal court, in a decision that is on appeal, and some other states’ laws have been blocked from enforcement while lawsuits against them proceed.