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KY Senate votes to stop state funding of hormone treatments for transgender prisoners

Published

1 month ago

February 19, 2025

Staff Editor

kentuckylantern.com – Sarah Ladd – 2025-02-18 17:17:00

KY Senate votes to stop state funding of hormone treatments for transgender prisoners

by Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern
February 18, 2025

This article mentions suicide. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988.

A bill that would end hormone treatments for 67 Kentucky inmates and prohibit the use of public funds for any future gender-affirming surgeries for transgender prisoners passed the Senate Tuesday along party lines 31-6.

Opponents called the bill cruel and politically-motivated when it was heard in committee.

The sponsor, Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, pushed back on that accusation when introducing the measure on the Senate floor. Wilson also pointed out that Kentucky excludes transgender treatments from its Medicaid benefits and said taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for transgender treatments for prisoners either.

Senate Republican Whip Mike Wilson. (LRC Public Information)

“I’ve been criticized that we are somehow being inhumane by taking these folks off of these cross-sex hormones. But I will tell you that in the bill we provide for that, that a physician says that if it is something that would harm them, by taking them off cold turkey, they can cycle them off of these hormones,” he said. “These are the only medical services that we’re prohibiting. They can still get all the other medical services that a normal person would get. So, we’re not being inhumane.”

Senate Bill 2 says public dollars cannot be used to fund a “cosmetic service or elective procedure” for Kentucky inmates including for “cross sex hormones” and “any gender reassignment surgery.” It also says if a health care provider documents that ending a treatment would harm an inmate, use of the drug or hormone may be “systematically reduced and eliminated.”

Wilson pointed to the controversy late last year over a Kentucky Department of Corrections policy allowing transgender inmates to apply for gender-affirming treatments, saying the department went about that “under the cover of darkness, out from the public view.”

Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, whose transgender son died by suicide in 2022, called the bill a “fearmongering” effort while evoking the Salem witch trials.

“This is nothing but … a continued witch hunt to make sure that the most vulnerable people in this state are outed and abused and tortured for no reason other than you’re not comfortable with it,” she said. “They did not burn witches. They didn’t hang witches. Not one person that was hung at the Salem witch trials was a witch. They hung women — real, live people with real lives, over mass hysteria, over fear that is being propagated by lies coming from leadership of the Republican party to your door, and I don’t know why we put up with it.”

Bill barring use of public funds on transgender treatments for Kentucky inmates advances

Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, asked if biologically female inmates have access to breast reduction for health reasons, if they receive hormone replacement therapy for hot flashes and if they’re given feminine care products at taxpayer expense. Wilson said he did not believe they got the period products or breast reductions, but did not know about the hormone treatments.

“Female inmates are not even treated with the dignity to have medical treatment covered by taxpayers for necessary, basic, common necessities and cosmetic surgeries that have health implications,” Tichenor said. “This bill is a priority, in my opinion, because we’re dealing with the issue of spending taxpayer dollars on issues that are exacerbating a false reality for inmates. It doesn’t matter how many hormones you put them on, which lead them eventually towards surgery, and that is the goal, they cannot change who they are.”

Tichenor also said she thinks male prisoners would take hormones with the goal to “eventually be in women’s prisons.”

The opposition: The Constitution and misplaced priorities

Democrats focused their arguments against the bill on the protections against cruel and unusual punishments guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the potential cost of lawsuits based on constitutional claims. They also slammed the high priority of SB 2, saying they believed other issues deserved that attention.

Here’s how state lawmakers are taking aim at transgender adults’ health care

“We have a long line of cases that say that when a physician deems something to be medically necessary for someone, it is, in many cases, unconstitutional for the government to enact a blanket ban to deny it,” said Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville.

“Of course, when we take folks into custody and they are unable to access health care in any way except through us, and a licensed physician has determined that something is medically necessary, for the government to step in and say ‘we know better,’ is unconstitutional,” said Chambers Armstrong.

Minority Caucus Chair Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, said the high priority of the bill is a way to “vilify the LGBTQ community.”

“We’ve got schools that are underfunded. We’ve got rural hospitals going out of business. We’ve got a serious problem with over 600,000 children on Medicaid. And this is our No. 2 priority,” Thomas said. “I would submit to the public today and to this body that our priorities are really out of whack.”

Senate Bill 1, the chamber’s top priority, reduced the state income tax. It already has been signed into law by the governor.

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Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Drug Task Force investigates “vape shops,” uncovers over 100lbs of marijuana

Published

6 hours ago

April 2, 2025

Staff Editor

www.wnky.com – WNKY Staff – 2025-04-02 15:52:00

SUMMARY: Three Bowling Green, Kentucky businesses—Smoke & Vape, Smoke & Vape Superstore, and Smoke Department—were investigated by the Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force and other law enforcement agencies following complaints about illegal sales to minors. Undercover purchases revealed plant material with THC levels between 18.1% and 29.8%, far above the legal limit of 0.3%. Search warrants led to the seizure of over 116 pounds of marijuana, more than 21,000 pre-rolled marijuana blunts, and a handgun. The investigation’s findings have been submitted to the Commonwealth Attorney for potential grand jury action. The case remains ongoing, with further THC testing underway.

Read the full article

The post Drug Task Force investigates “vape shops,” uncovers over 100lbs of marijuana appeared first on www.wnky.com

News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Surprise guest shows up as U.S. House Dems slam education cuts: the Education secretary

Published

7 hours ago

April 2, 2025

Staff Editor

kentuckylantern.com – Shauneen Miranda – 2025-04-02 15:11:00

by Shauneen Miranda, Kentucky Lantern
April 2, 2025

WASHINGTON — A press conference by a dozen U.S. House Democrats outside the U.S. Department of Education took an unusual turn on Wednesday when the subject of their criticism — Education Secretary Linda McMahon — unexpectedly joined them.

The Democrats had met with the Trump administration appointee a few minutes earlier to press her about the sweeping shifts at the U.S. Department of Education, where she and President Donald Trump are seeking to dismantle the agency.

The lawmakers told reporters that at the scheduled meeting, they questioned McMahon on how the department could carry out its primary responsibilities when the agency continues to see dramatic changes. That includes mass layoffs that hit core units and an executive order from Trump calling on the secretary to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the department to the maximum extent she legally can.

Only Congress, which established the 45-year-old department, has the power to abolish it.

The Democrats said they were grateful that McMahon met with them but dissatisfied with and even alarmed by the secretary’s responses, especially on a timeline for closing the agency.

“It’s very apparent that the secretary is treating this as a corporate restructuring, and we want to be clear that the education of our children is not a corporate enterprise — it is how we move this country forward,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico said.

“It’s very clear that the (reduction in force), the firing of probationary staff, the so-called restructuring that’s happening — when we asked for a plan multiple times in this meeting, we were told there is not a plan yet,” she added.

The secretary arrives, and leaves

As the Democrats spoke, McMahon emerged from the building, accompanied by aides, and joined them at their lectern emblazoned with a U.S. House of Representatives logo.

She reiterated that “funding from the United States government will continue through the programs that have already been established” and said she looked forward to continuing to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

After her remarks, Rep. Mark Takano pressed McMahon on when she would close the department.

“Well, we’ve had our discussions already, so thank you all very, very much for coming,” McMahon replied, proceeding to walk back into the building.

“You see, she’s not answering the question when she’s going to shut down the department,” Takano, of California, said as the secretary walked away.

Barred from building

Wednesday’s meeting came after Takano and other Democratic lawmakers were blocked from entering the building in February while trying to meet with Denise Carter, acting Education secretary at the time, over Trump’s plans to dismantle the agency.

The California Democrat had led dozens of others in writing a letter to Carter and requesting a meeting over those efforts.

A day after Trump signed the executive order surrounding the department, he announced that special education services would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services and that the Small Business Administration would be handling the student loan portfolio.

The department has not taken any steps to move either — both of which would require acts of Congress and raise a slew of logistical questions.

U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat, speaks at a press conference outside the U.S. Department of Education headquarters on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said “the idea of dismembering the department and then parceling it out to other agencies and departments does not give us a lot of confidence or hope in what’s happening.”

The lawmakers said McMahon repeatedly stressed during the meeting that she plans to abide by federal law and would look carefully at what she’s legally allowed to do before moving any functions of the department.

Yet Rep. Greg Casar of Texas said he and the group “became more and more alarmed as the meeting went on,” noting that “current law won by so many Americans in this democracy, is that all kids deserve a decent education, that the money goes to your kid if they’re in need, the money goes to your kid no matter their race or their background or their neighborhood, and they want to change that.”

The lawmakers who met with McMahon included: U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama; Takano; Frederica Wilson of Florida; Raskin and Sarah Elfreth of Maryland; Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire; Stansbury; Casar, Julie Johnson and Veronica Escobar of Texas; Don Beyer of Virginia; and Gwen Moore of Wisconsin.

Last updated 4:02 p.m., Apr. 2, 2025

The post Surprise guest shows up as U.S. House Dems slam education cuts: the Education secretary appeared first on kentuckylantern.com

News from the South - Kentucky News Feed

Kentucky braces for severe weather, how emergency management officials are urging you to prepare

Published

1 day ago

April 1, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – FOX 56 News – 2025-04-01 21:24:41

SUMMARY: Kentucky is preparing for severe weather this week, including heavy rain and potential flooding. Emergency officials are taking proactive steps, especially in flood-prone areas like Woodford County. Local responders, including the Versailles fire department, are equipped with new tools, such as a rescue boat, to assist in emergencies. State officials are coordinating with the National Guard and swiftwater rescue teams to ensure readiness. With the forecasted rainfall, flooding could close roads, and officials urge residents to heed the “turn around, don’t drown” warning. They emphasize having evacuation plans and staying updated on weather alerts.

Kentucky is bracing for several rounds of heavy rain and severe weather this week. Emergency management officials across the state are preparing now to protect residents from the worst of what’s to come.

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