Global Courant 2023-04-27 18:32:39
A judge in Missouri on Wednesday blocked the state’s attorney general from enforcing a new rule restricting access to medical treatments for transgender people for both children and adults just hours before it was due to go into effect.
The rule drafted by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey sets requirements for both minors and adults before they can undergo sex reassignment surgery, sex hormones or puberty blockers. It was supposed to go into effect Thursday, but Missouri transgender people and healthcare providers have sued to prevent it from being enforced.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo said Wednesday she wants more time to review the case before deciding whether to issue a temporary restraining order. She delayed implementation of the rule until 5 p.m. Monday, saying she expects to issue a ruling before then.
Bailey has called the rules an attempt to protect children from experimental treatments that have significant side effects. However, the restrictions would also affect transgender adults, requiring patients to show three years of documented gender dysphoria, receive at least 15 hours of therapy for 18 months, and be screened for autism before receiving “gender transition interventions,” among other things.
ACLU, LGBT GROUPS SUBMIT MISSOURI AG FOR GENDER TRANSITION EMERGENCY RULE
Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks to reporters after taking the oath of office in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Jan. 3, 2023. The Missouri ACLU on Monday, Apr. 24 sued for new state restrictions on both adults and children seeking transgender people to block medical treatments, which begin Thursday. They argue that Bailey has no authority to use a state consumer protection law to regulate sex reassignment surgery or sex hormone therapies through emergency regulations. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
“These are designed to protect all patients and ensure that all patients have access to mental health services and that all patients understand the experimental nature of the drugs,” Bailey told St. Louis Public Radio.
Opponents of the rule, including medical professionals, say the treatments are not experimental and have been prescribed for decades to treat gender dysphoria. The lawsuit challenging Bailey’s rule alleges he overstepped his authority by circumventing state legislatures and attempting to regulate transgender people’s medical treatments under state consumer protection laws.
Lawyer Tony Rothert, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, told Ribaudo at a court hearing Wednesday that the regulations will cause “immediate, serious and potentially irreparable harm” to people who could lose access to drugs such as puberty blockers and sex hormones.
MISSOURI ADVOCATE GENERAL WANTS TO END GENDER TRANSITION PROCEDURES FOR MINORS WHICH THEY CALL ‘DANGEROUS’
The ACLU and LGBT groups are suing to block new rules that prevent adults and minors from getting sex reassignment services without prior therapy sessions. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
He and other lawyers challenging the rule said transgender people who are denied access to treatment are at risk of committing suicide.
Assistant Attorney General Joshua Divine told the court that Baiely’s administration does not prohibit medical treatment for transgender people. He said the rule provides “basic procedural guardrails” to protect patients, especially children.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office has pointed to medical groups in both the US and Europe that have criticized medical treatments for transgender people in defense of the emergency ordinance.
KENTUCKY, WEST VIRGINIA PROHIBITS MEDICAL TREATMENT OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE FOR MINORS
Missouri officials point to research suggesting sex reassignment services can often be dangerous. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has said: ”
