Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear isn’t the first politician to invoke Scripture to defend the indefensible, but in twisting the Golden Rule and the parable of the Good Samaritan to intentionally justify the abuse and permanent destruction of confused children, he is committing theological malpractice.
This article is a lightly edited transcript of the “Here’s the Point” podcast by Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center.
In 2023, the Kentucky legislature passed Senate Bill 150 banning gender-affirming surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones for minors. The bill protected parental rights and prevented schools from hiding a child’s transition from their parents. Gov. Andy Beshear, D, vetoed it, claiming, “My faith teaches me that all children are children of God, and Senate Bill 150 will endanger the children of Kentucky.” The Republican-led legislature — a supermajority — swiftly overrode his veto and passed the law anyway.
This past week on The View, Beshear — a highly anticipated 2028 presidential candidate for the Democratic primary — doubled down, saying, “Most of the decisions I make are based on that Golden Rule that says we love our neighbor as ourself.” He explained further, “When I vetoed the nastiest piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation that ever came through my state, I said my faith teaches me that all children are children of God, and I didn’t want people picking on those kids.”
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, based in Louisville, Kentucky, a constituent of that state, called Beshear’s biblical defense “absolutely ridiculous.” And he’s right. But this isn’t just one governor’s confusion — it’s part of a larger pattern on the left.
Minnesota and California have declared themselves “sanctuary states” for gender transition procedures on minors, actively encouraging families to cross state lines for puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries. These procedures are irreversible. A boy or girl who undergoes surgical removal of healthy tissue and reproductive organs cannot undo that decision when they are 25 and their dysphoria has subsided — as it does in more than 70 percent of childhood cases.
So how should Christians think about this? Here are three points.
First, calling evil good is not compassion — it’s cruelty.
Beshear invoked the Good Samaritan, but he fundamentally misunderstood it. The Samaritan didn’t affirm the beaten man’s wounds as part of his identity. He bound them up and sought healing.
True compassion seeks the genuine good of another person, not the validation of their mental delusion. Jesus said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung about their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). These aren’t harsh words from an unloving God, they’re words of the Father who takes child protection with deadly seriousness.
When we chemically castrate boys or sterilize girls and remove healthy breasts from 13-year-olds, we are destroying their lives. That is predatory, vile, and evil in the eyes of God. And God is an avenger of innocent life, especially when it comes to harm against children.
Second, the irreversibility of these procedures makes them categorically different.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently stated that for minors “interventions are irreversible, expected benefits are uncertain, potential harms may be lifelong, and patients are minors with evolving preferences.”
That is coming from one of the nation’s leading medical organizations acknowledging the reality of the situation.
This isn’t about leftwing vs. rightwing politics. Cross-sex hormones cause permanent changes: sterilization, sexual dysfunction, bone density loss. Surgeries remove healthy organs that can never be restored. And the evidence for mental health benefits? The HHS Evidence Review has shown no improvement.
In the end, those pushing this agenda have no problem experimenting on children for the sake of their ideology. But that’s not medicine — that’s cruelty and abuse.
Third, states with shield laws reveal the totalitarian nature of gender ideology.
There are 14 states with shield laws in place to protect gender transition surgeries and 3 more states that have shield laws by executive order. This not only allows gender mutilation for adults but also for minors from 13 to 17 years old.
Sanctuary states aren’t just protecting their own policies — they’re actively recruiting children from other states and shielding providers from legal accountability. In some cases these laws prevent courts from honoring child custody orders from other states if those orders restrict gender procedures. They create a parallel legal system where a child can be taken from a loving parent in one state and transported to another state for irreversible medical interventions — all in the name of “affirming care.” It’s state-sanctioned child abuse.
Make no mistake: When politicians like Andy Beshear — who is not the first and likely won’t be the last to invoke Scripture to defend the indefensible — they are committing theological malpractice to intentionally cover abuse.
The same God who knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13) did not make mistakes with our bodies. The same Jesus who welcomed children and warned against harming them does not celebrate surgical mutilation. The Holy Spirit doesn’t contradict Himself by calling us to “love our neighbor” through enabling their destruction.
Even though politicians will twist Scripture to mutilate children, God is not silent on this issue. We must absolutely protect the innocent and we must speak the truth with clarity and conviction in the face of lies. When culture calls good evil and evil good, we cannot be silent. By God’s grace and for the sake of our children, we must stand.
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