Global Courant 2023-04-15 23:46:55
Kansas City, Mo. — A Kansas City hospital is suing Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey over what it calls his “cumbersome” requests for data on gender-affirming care.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Jackson County, attorneys for Children’s Mercy Hospital have asked a judge to dismiss Bailey’s 54 inquiry demands for records and testimony despite the hospital not facing any wrongdoing charges, The Kansas reported. Citystar.
Bailey has demanded that the hospital provide records of all hormone blocker prescriptions and surgeries for transgender patients, the lawsuit said. He also asks for information on when the hospital reported child abuse.
Bailey’s spokeswoman, Madeline Sieren, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
In February, Bailey, a Republican who was named attorney general in November, announced that he was investigating the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after an associate alleged that the center was providing children with gender-affirming care without informed consent.
Bailey has since expanded the research to other healthcare providers in Missouri.
On Thursday, Bailey introduced an emergency rule that will place several restrictions before adults and children can receive drugs, hormones or surgery “for the purpose of gender reassignment.”
Republican legislators across the country, including Missouri, have proposed hundreds of laws targeting transgender people, with a particular emphasis on health care.
At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.
Children’s Mercy argues in its lawsuit that releasing the information requested by Bailey would violate state and federal laws, including those regarding private medical decisions between patients and doctors.
The hospital also claims that Bailey does not have the jurisdiction to investigate health care companies and doctors, which are regulated by the Missouri Board of Healing Arts.
The lawsuit also argues that many of Bailey’s requests are “ill-disguised interrogations” unrelated to gender-affirming care.
The hospital acknowledges that the attorney general has the authority to investigate deceptive trade practices under the state’s merchandise protection law, but said the authority to use the law as an investigative tool has its limits.
The charge sent to Children’s Mercy far exceeds those limits, the lawsuit said. The facility also claims that hospitals are not covered by that law and said the hospital “cannot attempt to comply in good faith”.
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri sued over Bailey’s document demands to that organization as part of its investigation.
Planned Parenthood also argued in its lawsuit that Bailey is not authorized to investigate his clinic, which is inspected by the state’s health department.
