FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Two high-profile transgender Kentuckians are pushing back on claims that Governor Beshear lied in ads about gender reassignment surgeries for minors in KY.
A recently-published letter sent from a doctor at UK Healthcare to a state representative, says in recent years, they have performed a small number of non-genital gender reassignment surgeries on minors, such as mastectomies. The same letter, which was dated in early March, says they do not perform genital gender reassignment surgeries on minors.
Republicans, including AG Daniel Cameron, have seized on the letter, arguing it shows Beshear lied in ads where he says both that the surgeries were not happening in Kentucky and that he has never supported gender reassignment surgeries for minors. On Thursday, Beshear responded to Cameron’s claims, saying he was unaware of the UK letter.
The letter has been the talk of the commonwealth’s political circles for days now. It was sent as lawmakers were debating what would eventually become Senate Bill 150, which bans gender-affirming healthcare for minors.
Spawning Beshear’s ads have been frequent ads from Cameron-backers, where Beshear has been painted as extreme, saying Beshear supports gender-reassignment surgeries for minors.
Emma Curtis, a transgender activist who recently drew support in what was eventually a losing bid to become the state’s first state-wide openly transgender elected official, pointed out that the UK letter said they didn't perform “genital” reassignment surgeries, just non-genital ones, such as mastectomies, often known as “Top” surgery. She considers it an important distinction.
“You would be hard-pressed to find a transgender person who thinks Top surgery is quote-unquote gender reassignment surgery,” Curtis said.
Rebecca Blankenship, Kentucky’s first openly transgender elected official, said her focus on why Beshear’s statement is factual lies in that they weren't actively taking place. She said a source told her organization, Ban Conversion Therapy KY, that the last gender-affirming surgery of any kind on a minor in Kentucky took place in May 2021.
“This letter gives clarity that no genital reassignment surgeries ever occurred and that no gender-affirming surgeries of any kind were being performed on adolescents during the legislative session,” Blankenship said.
She says every pro-LGBTQ+ organization in the state has been clear that they are alright with reasonable trans healthcare regulations, including a ban on gender-affirming surgeries for minors. They advocate for a principle of reversibility, such as giving families the option of puberty blockers and largely-reversible cross-sex hormones, she said. SB 150 took those options away.
“Had we had the greater certainty that we now have, that the most-recent gender-affirming surgery performed on a minor was actually done way back in May of 2021, I think it would have been really clear that this is not something that needed to be the main focus of our legislators' actions,” she said.
TJ Roberts, who is on the executive board of Northern Kentucky Young Republicans, said to him — the letter from UK is a clear admission that gender reassignment surgeries were taking place in Kentucky and that, based on it — Beshear was lying.
“UK Healthcare themselves called it gender reassignment surgery,” he said in response to Curtis’s remarks about what qualifies as gender-reassignment surgery.
He said the average voter who watches Beshear’s ads believes he is referring to surgeries are about more than just genitals, which is an assertion Curtis disagrees with.
She believes the letter was intended to hurt Beshear in his race by using misinformation.
Curtis, Blankenship, and Roberts all agree the letter should have been released to the public back when what became SB 150 was being debated.
They oppose any surgical intervention for transgender youth, Curtis said.
She said the toughest part of the debate is that trans kids are caught in the middle.
“It’s infuriating that we keep seeing all of this misinformation spewed to spread lies and to spread hatred and vitriol toward kids who are just trying to be themselves,” Curtis said.
