COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Families of transgender children are suing to block a new Missouri law banning transgender surgery for minors.
Lawyers for the families, doctors and LGBTQ+ rights groups on Tuesday sued to block the law from taking effect on August 28th.
The law will prohibit minors from getting puberty blockers, hormones and sex reassignment surgeries.
Lambda Legal attorney Nora Huppert in a statement said letting the law take effect “would deny adolescent transgender Missourians access to evidence-based treatment supported by the overwhelming medical consensus.”
“This law is not just harmful and cruel; it is life-threatening,” Huppert said.
Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, defended the legislation in court.
“There are zero FDA approvals of puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria in children,” Bailey said in a statement. “We’re not going to let left-wing ideologues experiment on children here in the state of Missouri.”
Minors prescribed puberty blockers or hormones before August 28 will be allowed to continue those treatments.
Most adults will still have access to transgender health care under the law, but Medicaid won’t cover it and prisoners’ access to surgeries will be limited.
