Felzkowski, Callahan supported bill
By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
MADISON – A bill seeking to ban gender-affirming care for Wisconsin youth was vetoed by Governor Tony Evers on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
The legislation was backed by more than 30 Republican lawmakers, including State Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) and State Representative Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk).
Assembly Bill 465, which was introduced in September and approved by the GOP-controlled State Legislature in October, sought to prohibit Wisconsin minors from receiving gender-affirming surgeries and care, including puberty blockers and hormone treatments using testosterone and estrogen.
Gender-affirming surgeries for minors are considered to be uncommon relative to such procedures for adults. A study authored by Dr. Jason Wright of Columbia University and published this year in the American Medical Association medical journal JAMA Network Open identified about 48,000 individuals who underwent gender-affirming surgeries in the United States between 2016 and 2020. According to the study, approximately 25,000 (roughly 52%) of these individuals were between ages 19 and 30, while about 3,700 patients (roughly 8%) were between ages 12 and 18.
Callahan told the Tomahawk Leader on Friday, Dec. 8 that he was “disappointed” with Evers’s decision to veto the bill.
“As elected officials, we have an obligation to protect those we represent,” Callahan stated. “These children are not old enough to buy alcohol, tobacco or vote. As a co-author of this bill, I cannot wrap my head around how the governor would choose politics over protecting our children from making irreversible, life-altering decisions.”
The Tomahawk Leader reached out to Felzkowski’s office on Friday, Dec. 8 for comment regarding Evers’ veto of the bill, but had not received a response as of press time on Monday, Dec. 11.
A release from Evers’s office said the governor has “repeatedly signaled he would veto the bill, as well as any other anti-LGBTQ legislation sent to his desk.”
“Gender-affirming care is recognized by most major medical associations as the evidence-based treatment for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth with gender dysphoria,” the release said.
The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have each stated that gender-affirming care can reduce the risk of suicide among transgender youth.
Evers said he vetoed the bill in its entirety because he “(objects) to restricting physicians from providing evidence-based and medically appropriate care to their patients, restricting parents from making decisions with physicians to ensure their kids receive the healthcare they need and preventing patients from receiving that basic, lifesaving care.”
“Healthcare providers should be trusted to provide medically appropriate and accurate information, treatment and care for their patients without the unnecessary political interference of politicians,” Evers stated. “Further, and especially important to me personally, I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s ongoing efforts to manufacture and 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 LGBTQ Wisconsinites.”
Evers said he will “veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids.”
“I support LGBTQ Wisconsinites, and I will continue to do everything in my power to defend them, protect their rights and keep them safe,” Evers stated.