(LEX 18) — Some Democrats and Republicans in Kentucky have been frustrated with how long it took to release a letter from UK doctors which says they had in recent years performed a small number of non-genital gender reassignment surgeries.
Both Representative James Tipton, who asked University of Kentucky Healthcare if they were performing the surgeries - and received a response, and University of Kentucky officials themselves, explained why they didn’t release the letter during the legislative session.
“We were on a time crunch,” Tipton said, responding to why the letter was not publicly released during the session.
The letter was dated March 2, which Tipton said was the same day that HB 470, which originally contained the ban on gender-affirming care for minors, was heard in both the judiciary committee and on the house floor. The timing they received the letter prevented it from being part of those discussions, Tipton said.
After House Bill 470 stalled, the ban on gender-affirming care for minors was attached to Senate Bill 150. But, as Tipton explained, that didn’t come until the day before the start of the veto period, which is the lawmakers' deadline to get bills passed or risk being unable to override a potential veto from the governor.
“So we were on the clock,” Tipton said. “We had other legislation to file. So we went straight through the committee, and actually, there was really no opportunity to present that [letter] at that time, on the House side.”
In addition, Tipton said they didn't feel the need to release the letter at that time because he was confident they already had the votes and the letter was not relevant.
After passing the House, a hearing on House Bill 470 was held by the Senate’s Families and Children Committee on March 14.
T.J. Roberts, who serves on the executive board of Northern Kentucky Young Republicans, said Tipton should have released the letter to the public.
“It’s rather disappointing we waited until now for this letter to be put out there,” Roberts said.
He said it could have been used to push back against those who said the surgeries were not taking place in Kentucky, bolstering the Republican argument for the passage of SB 150.
Roberts also feels that UK Healthcare should have released the letter during the legislative session.
“When advocates were saying these procedures are not happening, UK had the opportunity and, frankly, the duty to set the record straight,” Roberts said.
He said there are now activists who say they don’t mind banning the surgeries but feel it doesn't accomplish anything, who have been “thrown under the bus by UK’s incompetence.”
In a statement to LEX 18, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton answered why they didn’t release the letter and if they followed standard practices.
“The letter was the result of a specific request from a legislator for further explanation in writing of the services performed by the clinic,” Blanton said. “We did that in exactly the same manner that we would for other policymakers on other policy issues.”
UK Healthcare is fully in compliance with SB 150, Blanton said.
Trans activists, who are Democrats, also shared that the letter should have been released during the legislative session, but for different reasons.
“I think we really would have liked to have this information earlier on,” said Rebecca Blankenship, Kentucky’s first openly transgender elected official.
She believes the release of the letter could have helped those who were arguing against the passage of SB 150.
“Had we had the greater certainty that we now have that the most recent gender-affirming surgery on a minor was 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' action,” Blankenship said.
The May 2021 date comes from a recent source to her organization, Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky, she said.
LEX 18 asked UK how many surgeries have been performed in the past 5 years and when the last one took place and were told the following:
“The numbers of those surgeries performed in the past were so small that detailing specifics would potentially violate federal patient privacy laws,” Blanton said.
In an interview prior to LEX 18 hearing back from UK and speaking with Tipton, Blankenship said she didn't need to hear anything else from UK, and was more interested in hearing why Tipton didn't release the letter for months.
“Whether you support Senate Bill 150 or oppose Senate Bill 150, it should bother you our government is making important policy decisions in secret, withholding information and deciding things totally behind closed doors,” Blankenship said. “We deserve transparency and this is far from it."
Responding to why the letter wasn’t released earlier, Tipton also pointed out that Senator Lindsey Tichenor mentioned the letter during a speech on the floor of the Senate.
Tichenor did not make the reference during the primary debate for Senate Bill 150 itself. Instead, it was on March 29, as lawmakers were voting on whether to override Governor Beshear's veto of the bill.
At the time of her comments, 27 of 37 senators had already cast their votes.
Asked if her comments could have still made an impact at that time, Tipton said the release of the letter would not have changed a single vote.
“We were fairly confident these procedures had happened in Kentucky, as we were drafting the legislation,” Tipton said. “Receiving that letter just confirmed what we need to do and what we need to include in the bill.”
While not released to the public, Tipton said a few other legislators did see the letter.
Following the session, he said he put the letter “out of sight, out of mind.”
“But as I saw political advertisements out there making the statement, basically implying these procedures had not happened in Kentucky, I just felt that it was important for the citizens of Kentucky to know the accurate facts on that matter.”
The advertisements were from Governor Beshear, who said both he has never supported gender reassignment surgeries for kids, and that those procedures don’t happen in the Commonwealth. The ad was itself in response to pro-Daniel Cameron ads which said Beshear does support those same surgeries.
Following the public release of the letter, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Attorney General Cameron has argued it shows Governor Beshear is lying, which has been repeated in advertisements. Beshear said in a press conference he was unaware of the letter and all the information he had been given indicated the surgeries were not taking place.
The Kentucky Open Government Coalition, a nonpartisan organization aimed at promoting and preserving open records in the state, wrote in a blog post that Tipton concealed the letter from the public until they could use it as a tool in an attack on Beshear.
“This most recent breach of the public's trust represents little more than the cynical weaponization of public records for political gain by arrogant lawmakers who hold themselves above the law."
Responding to the accusation, Tipton said he’d ask the group a question.
“How would I know what the governor would put in his political advertisement? I had no idea he would put that in his ad, he certainly did not consult me about it,” Tipton said. “People can make any kind of accusation they want to, I’m about the truth.”
