The 2025 Session has officially wrapped up. It’s important to look back at all God has done this session. Our biggest win this Session was overriding the Governor’s veto and Help Not Harm immediately becoming law!
- Help Not Harm
Finally, after three years we were able override Governor Kelly’s veto of Help Not Harm. Legislator after legislator that I talked to following the election told me that this was their number one priority, and they followed through! Senator Beverly Gossage, Rep. Will Carpenter, and Rep. Ron Bryce led the charge to get this over the line. We are so thankful for every single legislator who stood up for children and protected them from these life altering and experimental procedures. Kansas joins 23 other states that are already protecting children, and we look forward to a good Supreme Court ruling in the coming months affirming a similar law.
- Affirming a Culture of Life
Affirming life in Kansas policies is often difficult and slow. But we saw massive steps forward this year as at least four different policies became law that support moms and babies.
First, the Child Support for Pregnancy Related Expenses bill, H.B. 2062 became law over the Governor’s veto. This law also includes a personal exemption for a child the year they are born, accounting for the year the child was in utero! It also allows families to claim this exemption if their child was stillborn. This law affirms that every life matters and that there are real expenses that families face when bringing life into the world. This law officially goes into effect July 1.
HB 2382, the Unborn Human Embryology Education Act, became law over the Governor’s veto as well. This law will ensure that if a school is teaching human development they show at least a 3 minute video about human development inside the womb. No class is forced to teach these classes but if they are already teaching them, they need to make sure students get a basic introduction to life inside the womb.
For the third year, the Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program was included in the budget. This program provides funding for outreach efforts to pregnancy resource centers that choose to apply. It has helped multiple centers reach more women over the last two years. We were able to increase the program from $2 million to $3 million dollars.
Finally, HB 2307, provides prenatal/postnatal support to families who receive a disability diagnosis. This program was originally created in 2018 under the Department of Health and Environment but has never been implemented. This law transfers the program to the Council on Developmental Disabilities – an organization that is doing amazing work supporting families across Kansas. One bright note, the Governor did actually sign this bill.
- Protecting Religious Freedom
And last but certainly not least, the Adoption Conscience Act HB 2311, became law over the Governor’s veto. This bill unlike any other shows how much the Legislature has changed over seven years years. In 2018 during the Adoption Protection Act debates, the Legislature barely got a majority just to protect the religious freedom of faith-based adoption agencies. Here we are seven years later, and a bill protecting the beliefs of adoptive and foster families became law with a super majority overriding the Governor’s veto.
This is a huge win that would not be possible without the work of the First Amendment Project, Rep. Cydni Howerton, Sen. Beverly Gossage, Rep. Tim Johnson, Rep. Susan Humphries, leadership in both chambers, and real families who came forward and shared their stories. This bill highlighted what happens when the body of Christ comes together in a common cause to seek the welfare of our state. There are so many families who are compelled by their faith to care for children in need. This law ensures that the government cannot block them simply for their biblical beliefs about sexuality and marriage.
We don’t do this work because it’s popular or because we win all this time. But it is important to stop and celebrate the wins. We thank you for all the work each of you have done to make this Session a reality. Will you continue to support us in our work?
Our work is not done. But for now we will celebrate all that the Lord has done in Kansas this year!
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