Why do Kansas legislators insert themselves into talks between doctors and patients?

The Editorial Advisory Board
·2 min read
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Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson, has introduced a bill that would ban doctors from gender-confirming care.
Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson, has introduced a bill that would ban doctors from gender-confirming care.

We have a question for Sen. Mark Steffen: Why do you feel the need to continually wade into medical areas outside your expertise?

Steffen is an anesthesiologist from Hutchinson.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Steffen pushed an anti-vaccination agenda and promoted the use of Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 despite the greater medical and scientific communities resoundingly disagreeing.

Now he and fellow Sen. Mike Thompson, both Republicans, recently introduced Senate Bill 12, which would ban doctors from performing gender reassignment surgery or providing hormone replacement therapy for those age 21 and younger.

The Topeka Capital-Journal’s Andrew Bahl reports that under this bill, if a doctor provides those services they could be charged with a felony and also would be judged to be in violation of the Healing Arts Act, which could result in the loss of their medical license.

More:Kansas bill to criminalize transgender health care for youths. Here's what to know.

The last time we checked, people don’t go to anesthesiologists for gender-confirming care. That would be like seeing a psychiatrist to treat heart disease. They might know more than a layperson, but they’re out of their depth.

They certainly don’t go to legislators for medical advice. So why are legislators trying to set medical policy for Kansas as a whole?

Can we please leave that to the Healing Arts Board, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies who have experts to assist with these matters?

From where we stand, this bill crosses a line we shouldn’t.

Medicine, like life, is complicated. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to offer quality care.

This issue alone is deeply complex and requires sensitivity, understanding and care.

This bill doesn’t seem to take that into account. Can we really regulate health care for 18-year-olds who are legal adults? Better yet, should we?

What if a person moves to Kansas after starting one of these treatments? What if someone undergoing these treatments gets in an accident while visiting our state and needs specific care? We don’t want to handcuff a doctor from their Hippocratic Oath because they fear losing their license.

We also don’t want to see Kansans denied access to care they may need.

It’s interesting that during the thick of the pandemic, Sen. Steffen felt the need to keep the government out of health care. Now, he seems to feel the opposite. Why?

Let’s keep health care between a doctor and a patient.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why do Kansas lawmakers insert themselves between doctors & patients?