Missouri’s expansive gender treatment ban delayed by court
A Missouri court blocked the effort of state Attorney General Andrew Bailey to issue emergency regulations for gender-related procedures.
The motion, announced on April 13, was one of the first in the country to ban procedures for adults as well as children. It argued that the procedures are “experimental and have significant side effects” and came after an investigation into a St. Louis pediatric clinic, which a whistleblower alleged was distributing experimental drugs to children without proper individual assessment.
The motion was frozen by Circuit Court Judge Ellen Ribaudo in a last-minute order, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; the motion was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Monday.
Ribaudo argued that Bailey, a Republican, did not have the authority to issue such a wide-ranging motion under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, as he was attempting. She expressed sympathy with a lawsuit from transgender patients and physicians who filed a lawsuit against the motion last week, arguing that it would irreparably harm transgender people.
The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, Lambda Legal, and the Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner law firm.
Bailey argued last month that the regulations were needed to protect children and that he was following the scientific research on the matter.
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“As Attorney General, I will always fight to protect children because gender transition interventions are experimental,” Bailey said.
“My office has uncovered a clandestine network of clinics across the state who are harming children by ignoring the science. When even progressive countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the United Kingdom have all sharply curtailed these procedures, it’s time for the United States to course correct. My office is stepping up to protect children throughout the state while we investigate the allegations and how they are harming children,” he added.
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