WILD MUSTANGS OF THE FLINT HILLS photography by Dave Leiker

BUTTING HEADS AT THE CAPITOL

Legislative news and analysis from Chuck Weber, Kansas Catholic Conference. 

With three regularly scheduled weeks remaining in the 2025 Kansas Legislative Session, it's getting testy. Patience, at least in some circles, is in short supply. While there is still time for changes, the direction of policies under serious consideration is pretty well set.  Tax policy, election law and how Kansas selects State Supreme Court justices have taken center stage in recent days. 

The Kansas Catholic Conference (KCC), the public policy arm of the Kansas Catholic Bishops, is carefully watching these and other issues, even though they don't fall directly into our policy wheelhouse. 

Protecting women and preborn babies from the predatory abortion industry and defending the integrity of the family against the so-called "gay lobby" and others are KCC priorities.  On that front, there have been some promising developments.

Legislators are increasingly butting heads with each other.  Misbehaving conferees are being expelled by Capitol security after creating disruptions in hallways and during committee hearings.  And the Catholic Faith is being targeted with a blasphemous event by an attention-starved group from Kansas City. Never a dull moment!  

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

• Is more help on the way for women with difficult and unplanned pregnancies?
• Legal protection is closer for educators who just want to teach and not engage in gender ideological conflict.
• A direct attack on Catholics. When it comes to free speech, how far is too far?

Strongly supported by the Kansas Catholic Conference, the Pregnancy Compassion Act of Kansas is entering year #3. This measure helped establish the Kansas Pregnancy Care Network (KCPN) that administers and distributes financial grants to qualified Kansas maternity homes and Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRC's). These PRC's and maternity homes provide a wide variety of assistance to women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.

During the first two years of the program, legislators allocated $2 million annually to the KCPN. With demand rising, more dollars for the program are being requested. This past week, the Senate Ways & Means committee working on the Kansas Budget approved $6 million. Previously, a House Budget Committee approved $2 million for the program. House and Senate negotiators will meet later this month to find a compromise, which will almost certainly be vetoed by Governor Kelly and will require--again--an override vote.  

As we are painfully aware, there are virtually no realistic protections in place against the abortion industry in Kansas.  Statistically speaking, 50+ preborn babies were lost TODAY in Kansas through abortion.  Is abortion the only option for a woman facing the loneliness, uncertainty and fear of an unplanned pregnancy?  We wonder why anyone would oppose this program designed to help support women who wish to bring their child into the world.   

BEWARE DEADBEAT DADS!  

Two measures making their way through the Kansas Legislature are designed to legally compel men who father a child to take responsibility for their actions and for the life they helped create. HB 2062 passed out of a Senate committee this past week and now goes for a full debate and floor vote. If passed into law, this measure would allow judges to consider requiring men to pay child support to a woman dating back to when the pregnancy began. This means potentially having fathers pay for pre-birth expenses like ultrasounds, a doctor appointment and other pregnancy-related expenses incurred by the mother. 

Another bill, SB 237, would allow a judge to force the father of a child to access his retirement or pension funds to help pay for child support. That bill was passed unanimously by the Senate and now moves to the House for consideration. 

These are two proposals supported by the Kansas Catholic Conference as a way to bring more responsibility to men who use women for their pleasure and then abandon them with the consequences of their behavior.     

HELP FOR KANSAS PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

As the parent of a child with Down Syndrome, a proposal known as HB 2307 makes me smile as it moves through the legislative process. If it becomes law, there will be additional resources made available to parents who bring a child into the world who has a developmental or intellectual disability. The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee had a hearing on this bill last week, which you can watch here.  We direct your attention to testimony from Lola, a young lady with Down Syndrome, who testified in favor of the bill.  You can find her testifying at about the 7:15 mark. The Kansas Catholic Conference supports this legislation.  

DRAMA SURROUNDS THE GIVEN NAME ACT

A Junction City teacher was just trying to do her job. Instead, she was thrust into an ideological gender war focusing on names and "preferred" pronouns. Eventually, this teacher won her battle against the local school district, but not without enduring much ridicule. This is part of the backdrop behind SB 76. The Given Name Act.  

You can read more about that story here: Riley County Teacher and the Pronoun Lawsuit 

Previously passed by the Senate, the Given Name Act moved to the House for a hearing this past week. Transgender activists (and others) packed both the committee room and the overflow room.  KCC representatives on the scene watched (the slightly delayed) testimony on phones in a nearby hallway via the Kansas Statehouse YouTube stream.

Before we continue with this report, we now offer a reminder and acknowledgment that there is a lot of gender and sexual confusion in the culture today.  Some young people genuinely experience what is known as gender dysphoria.  As Catholics and Christians, we are called to treat all people with love and respect, even if, and especially when, they do not exhibit this behavior to others.  

To better understand the conflict unfolding at the Kansas Capitol about gender ideology, take a few minutes to watch The Given Name Act hearing that can be found here.  At the 59:40 mark, you will witness an individual being removed from the committee room by Capitol Security. This same person also disrupted a similar hearing in another committee hearing recently.  

What you do not see is what happened outside in the hallway as KCC Policy Specialist Lucrecia Nold was trying to follow events. 

Opponents of The Given Name Act aggressively confronted Lucrecia and a fellow lobbyist as they watched the committee hearing on a laptop.  Targeted as a representative of the Catholic Church in Kansas, Lucrecia was verbally accused of being "cruel and hateful." 

Eventually, Capitol Security intervened to diffuse and end the unwanted, unnecessary and inappropriate confrontation. Keep in mind this all happened as Lucrecia sat in a hallway trying to follow what was happening inside the committee room! 

The Kansas Catholic Conference welcomes vigorous debate on any and all issues where we are advocating for (or against) a policy.  It becomes unproductive and uncivil when legislative debate morphs into hallway bullying.  Regrettably, attempted intimidation acts being deployed by our opponents are becoming more frequent.  We will stand firm.   

ADDRESSING GENDER MISINFORMATION 

Earlier this session, the Kansas Legislature overrode a veto of Governor Kelly on the Help Not Harm bill, which is now Kansas law.  This law will protect children in Kansas from life-altering surgery or chemical manipulations designed to attempt the "transition" of a person from one sex to another. Here is a new report showing that so-called "gender-affirming care", particularly surgeries, has led to increased mental health issues in those struggling with gender dysphoria. Examining gender-specific mental health risks after gender-affirming surgery: a national database study | The Journal of Sexual Medicine | Oxford Academic

Another recent report states that the FDA failed to report 70,000 negative reactions to puberty blockers. Former FDA advisor: Biden’s FDA failed to report 70,000 negative reactions to puberty blockers - CatholicVote org

CAUTION: DISTURBING TESTIMONY ABOUT SEX TRAFFICKING IN KANSAS

The Kansas Catholic Conference is a strong proponent of SB 71.  If it becomes law, this measure will increase penalties for purchasing sex in Kansas. The House Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing that begins at the 16:00 minute mark. We direct your attention to compelling testimony from Emma Markiewiez, an intelligence analyst for the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office. Her testimony, starting at about 50:15, is a disturbing look, including graphic details, into what buyers are looking for and the unsettling number of how many people are looking to buy sex. This measure has already passed the Senate unanimously, and we look forward to a debate and vote in the House. 

BLACK MASS SCHEDULED INSIDE THE KANSAS CAPITOL

The efforts of the Kansas Catholic Conference on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Kansas in the public policy arena are first and foremost spiritual struggles. As readers of this newsletter are aware, we typically begin each day of the Legislative Session by leading a 7:30 a.m. Rosary inside Assumption Mater Dei Catholic Church, located directly north of the Kansas Statehouse.  We are joined by legislators, lobbyists and various Statehouse staff.  Other than the Catholic Mass, the Rosary is our most powerful spiritual tool as we defend ourselves and the Church thinking on matters of public policy. 

Now word comes that a group of Satanists from Kansas City are planning a direct and blasphemous attack on the Catholic Church by reserving space to conduct a Black Mass on Friday, March 28th inside the Capitol.

Here is a statement from the Kansas Catholic Conference on the situation that we issued this past week:

Since issuing this statement, there is nothing new to report. The Bishops do want the faithful to know that they are continuing to investigate options moving forward. Here is a Catholic News Agency Report about the event as well as coverage from KCTV in Kansas City.  

On Monday, March 10, the House Education Committee will hold a hearing on SB 87, a bill that will help maintain the current low-income tax credit scholarship program that benefits families and children throughout Kansas. This bill passed the Senate 24-16. The Kansas Catholic Conference is in favor of this legislation. 

On Tuesday, March 11, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on HB 2359, the guardianship/end of life bill where we are an advocate.  This bill will provide Kansans with an intellectual or development delay (I/DD) more rights at the end of life.  

On Wednesday, March 12, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee will hear testimony on HB 2311, which would provide religious liberty protection for couples seeking to adopt or be foster parents.  

The last regularly scheduled day of the 2025 Legislative Session is Friday, March 28.  These next three weeks will be a time of long days and tough decisions on legislation.  We ask for your prayers for our elected officials, that they may seek the heart of Christ in their deliberations and discussions, ultimately seeking the common good in public policy.

As we journey through the Season of Lent, please know that you and your intentions are in our prayers. Please pray for us as well.

Until next time, we persevere!

Chuck Weber

Kansas Catholic Conference