Legislature needs to choose between quality medical care and culture warfare | Opinion

As a practicing physician in Kansas, with a 30 year history of teaching medical students, residents, and fellows in Maternal Fetal Medicine, I want to share my point of view about recent legislation being proposed and debated in the Kansas Legislature.

I read a headline this week in a local southeast Kansas newspaper about a new program with Pittsburg State and Kansas City University to accelerate the pathway to medicine and dentistry for college students in southeastern Kansas.

This indicates to me that Kansans in rural towns and cities value medical/dental education, which makes the support of multiple state representatives for bills which curtail excellent medical care even more mystifying.

I am referencing bills such as House Bill 2791, labeling care of trans children, as requested by their parents and vetted by therapists and physicians, “child abuse.”

The hypocrisy of touting parental rights regarding books in the school library and masking recommendations while simultaneously working against parents just trying to provide scientifically proven care for their children is not lost on me.

And then there is H.B. 2749, introduced on behalf of an unelected, private organization, Kansans for Life.

Despite Kansans making it exceedingly clear that our citizens value privacy, bodily autonomy, and science based medical care, the legislators who emphasize anti-trans and anti-abortion laws are simply pushing their “culture wars” agenda to try to stay in power through re-election.

As physicians who pledge to “first do no harm”, I appeal to physician representatives in our state Legislature to stop introducing and supporting bills which have a troubling ripple effect — to the detriment of trans children and adults, as well as pregnant people.

Remember why you followed our calling, as physicians and teachers first, and secondarily as politicians.

If you can’t do that, how do you expect to help the next generation of medical and dental students learn how to put their patients first?

Kansans, you have an opportunity to show those college students seeking a future in medicine and dentistry that you support them and hope they will want to stay and practice in our great state of Kansas.

Or, you can keep electing representatives who don’t act in the best interest of Kansas citizens.

This story was originally published April 10, 2024 at 5:10 AM.