Missouri judge says law banning surgery, medication for transgender children unconstitutional

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri court on Monday upheld a new state law banning sexual health care for minors, a victory for the ban’s advocates amid numerous lawsuits against similar bans in other states. some are still playing. come out

Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement that Missouri is “the first state in the nation to successfully defend such a law in court.” Bailey, who tried to block children’s access to sexual health care by changing the law but abandoned the effort when the law passed, is responsible for defending the law in court.

“I am very proud of the thousands of hours my office has put in to shine a light on the lack of evidence supporting these irreversible practices,” Bailey said: “We will not stop fighting to ensure that Missouri it is the safest country in the country.”

Every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, has opposed restrictions on gender-based care for children and supports medical care for adolescents when it is provided appropriately.

Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri, which represents the plaintiffs who sued to overturn the law, on Monday said they would appeal the ruling.

Missouri is among at least 26 states that have passed laws banning or prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for transgender children.

Federal judges have struck down the Arkansas and Florida bans as unconstitutional, though a federal appeals court has stayed the Florida decision. A judge’s order is in place temporarily halting enforcement of the ban in Montana. New Hampshire’s bans will go into effect in January 2025.

The Missouri law would have banned gender-affirming surgeries for children and youth under 18, as well as hormones and birth control for children who have not started those treatments as of August 2023 The law expires in August 2027.

These treatments are accepted by major medical groups as evidence-based care that transgender people should receive.

Most adults are still allowed to get gender-affirming health care under Missouri law, but Medicaid refuses to cover it.

The plaintiffs, including the family of several transgender teenagers, say the law takes away needed treatment from transgender children while allowing other children to receive the same surgeries and medications.

Wright County Circuit Court Judge Craig Carter disagreed. In his decision, the southern Missouri judge wrote that he believed there was “a complete lack of consensus regarding the medical principles of treatment of adolescent dysphoria.”

“The evidence at trial showed strong disagreement about whether adolescent dysphoria medication and surgical treatment were ethical at all, and if so, how much treatment was permitted. ethically,” Carter wrote.

Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri said in a statement that “for some, compassion and equal access to health care remain out of reach.”

“The court’s findings show a disturbing acceptance of discrimination, ignore the extensive case record and the voices of transgender Missourians and those who care about them, and deny transgender youth and Medicaid beneficiaries their right to access to evidence-based, effective, and often life-saving medical care,” the organizations said.

States that have passed laws prohibiting or prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for transgender children include: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska , New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.