Wisconsin Senate passes law protecting children from transgender procedures

The Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday night passed the Help Not Harm Act, which would bar doctors from prescribing cross-sex hormones or performing transgender surgeries on children. State senators voted 22-10 to move the bill forward, with all Democratic legislators voting against it. The state Assembly approved the measure last week. Under the law, children “born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development” could still receive treatment. At least 22 other states have passed similar legislation.

What happens now? Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vowed to veto the legislation. A two-thirds majority vote of the state Assembly would be required to override his veto—Republicans alone would not have enough votes for the override. Evers has also promised to veto two other bills requiring high school and college students to participate in sports programs according to their biological sex. Those bills also passed the State Assembly last week but were not brought to a vote on Wednesday by the Senate.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report in Liberties about a Wisconsin ruling against a school policy of socially transitioning students without parental consent.