Missouri's AG Unilaterally Restricts Gender-Affirming Care

Missouri’s Republican attorney general, who is not a doctor, has issued new guidance governing the enforcement of gender-affirming healthcare regulations, which he designated as experimental. His unilateral actions require those seeking gender-affirming care to wait a year and a half to receive treatment.

The order clarifies that because gender transition interventions are “considered experimental,” they are covered by existing Missouri law governing unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practices, including administering healthcare services, according to Attorney General Andrew Bailey.

In a press release, he said that the measure is essential “in an effort to protect children and enforce the laws as written.”

Despite medical evidence to the contrary and the endorsement of every significant medical association in the country, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, Bailey perpetuated misinformation regarding the type of treatment available to minors. To make his point, the Republican used hollow buzzwords that mean nothing to communicate his stance against this essential care.

“As Attorney General, I will protect children and enforce the laws as written, which includes upholding state law on experimental gender transition interventions,” said Bailey in a statement. “Even Europe recognizes that mutilating children for the sake of a woke, leftist agenda has irreversible consequences, and countries like Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom have all sharply curtailed these procedures. I am dedicated to using every legal tool at my disposal to stand in the gap and protect children from being subject to inhumane science experiments.”

Journalist and trans activist Erin Reed called attention to the memorandum on Twitter.

“This is a defacto ban for many trans youth while the Missouri legislature considers a ban in and of itself. This unilateral action is a power grab by the Attorney General, plain and simple,” she wrote.

Children are neither mutilated nor made to suffer permanent or irreversible consequences through the care minors receive as part of a regimen of treatment options encompassing gender-affirming care.

Children are typically supported with mental health counseling, emotional support, and social support. Children before puberty receive no medical interventions at all, and then at most, kids will have access to puberty blockers, which have been proven safe, according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which establishes guidelines and standards of care.

It’s unclear whether the attorney general’s dictum covers anybody over 18 as the document does not outline any age ranges.