Springfield, Missouri (Associated Press) — Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey And families of transgender children in court this week, new law The measure banning minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care will go into effect on Monday as scheduled.
lawyer last month sued to overturn the law On behalf of three transgender minor families, a doctor and two LGBTQ+ organizations. They asked the county judge to temporarily block the law while a court challenge to the law is underway.
Hearings on the moratorium on the law will be held in Springfield this week. A judge is expected to make a decision by Monday.
law
law, Signed in June by Republican Governor Mike Parson, would ban Missouri health care providers from offering puberty blockers, hormones, and gender reassignment surgery to minors. Minors who were prescribed puberty blockers or hormones before August 28 can continue to receive those treatments.
Family planning clinics in Missouri have increased appointments and held pop-up clinics to help patients get treatment before the law takes effect.
Most adults will continue to have legal access to transgender medical care, but Medicaid will not cover it, and prisoners’ access to surgery will be limited.
Doctors who break the law can have their licenses revoked or be sued by their patients. The law makes it easier for former patients to sue, giving them a 15-year grace period and promising at least $500,000 in damages if they win.
This law expires in August 2027.
legal debate
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said in court filings that the law unlawfully discriminates against transgender patients “by denying them medically necessary care or coverage because of their sex or being transgender.” said that
In court papers, Attorney General’s Office He argued that the law was not discriminatory because it “applies equally to boys and girls.”
Lawyers at the firm wrote that “the only distinction is based on the condition being treated.” “Puberty blockers, testosterone, and estrogen are all still available to treat various conditions (such as precocious puberty). They cannot be used as experimental responses to gender dysphoria.”
Healthcare provider opinion
Thirty years ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved puberty blockers to treat children with precocious puberty, when sexual development begins much earlier than normal. Sex hormones (synthetic forms of estrogen and testosterone) were approved decades ago to treat hormonal disorders or as oral contraceptives.
Although the FDA has not approved the drug specifically for treating gender-questioning youth, it has been used “off-label” for that purpose for many years and is common for many medical conditions. It has become an accepted practice. Physicians who treat trans patients say its use over the last several decades is proof that the treatment is not experimental.
All major medical groups, including the American Medical Association, oppose bans on gender-positive care for minors and support well-executed medical care for young people. Lawsuits have been filed in several states that have enacted bans this year.
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