by the associated press: Missouri officials on Tuesday Abruptly ended an unusual emergency rule proposed by the Republican attorney general This would have placed limits on transgender care for minors and some adults.
The move was announced without explanation on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website, which stated: “This emergency rule is effective May 16, 2023.”
The rule, created by Attorney General Andrew Bailey, would require adults and children to undergo therapy for more than a year and meet other requirements before they can receive gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and surgery. Can
Bailey said in a statement Tuesday evening that his office was “standing in hiatus” until the GOP-controlled Legislature decided to act on the issue.
“The General Assembly has now filled that gap with a statute,” he said. “I am proud to shed light on the experimental nature of these procedures, and will continue to do everything in my power to make Missouri the safest state in the country for children.”
House Minority Leader Crystal Quaid, D-Springfield, said in a statement that Missouri should not have an attorney general “who persecutes innocent Missourians for political gain.”
“Andrew Bailey completely overstepped his legal authority, and everyone knows it,” she said. “So it is not surprising that he withdrew his unconstitutional rule knowing that another embarrassing court defeat was inevitable.”
Bailey sought enforcement of the rule on April 27. But the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit to block it, arguing that Bailey bypassed the Legislature and did not have the authority to regulate health care through Missouri’s consumer-protection law.
St. Louis County Judge Ellen Ribaudeau later granted a temporary restraining order and set a hearing for July 20.
The legislation expires less than a week after the Missouri Legislature approved a ban on initiating care for minors. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who has threatened to call a special session if lawmakers do not pass that bill and ban transgender girls and women from playing on female school sports teams, is expected to sign the legislation. .
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Bailey’s proposed rule requires people to have experienced a “severe pattern” of gender dysphoria documented for three years and receive at least 15 hours of sessions with a therapist over at least 18 months before receiving treatment. Prospective patients will also need to be screened for autism, and any psychotic symptoms from mental health issues will need to be treated and resolved.
Legal experts and transgender advocates have said the rule makes Missouri the first state in the nation to prohibit gender-affirming care for adults and the first to impose such restrictions through emergency regulations rather than a new law. .
Bailey said he proposed the rule to protect minors from experimental medical treatments, although puberty blockers and sex hormones have been prescribed for decades and the rule would apply to adults as well.
The Attorney General’s Office has stated that there are 12,400 Missouri residents who identify as transgender. The office anticipates that 600 to 700 Missouri residents will begin treatment in the next year.
Bailey issued the sanctions after launching an investigation into Washington University’s Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in February after a former employee alleged the center was providing gender-affirming care to children without informed consent, adequate personal Case review and mental health is not. Services.
An internal review by the university found that the claims were unfounded.