Republican Andrew Bailey, Missouri's attorney general, recently issued an emergency order on Thursday declaring that a state statute prohibiting particular medical procedures without adequate safeguards already makes gender-affirming medical therapy for transgender youngsters illegal.
Bailey is about to run for re-election this year. He believes that gender-affirming surgeries are still in the "experimental" phase and are a necessary treatment for everyone. In this thought, the treatment is said to be subject to Missouri's existing law that prohibits any "unfair, deceptive, and exploitative business practices," including the provision of healthcare services.
Emergency Order Limiting Gender-Affirming Care in Missouri
The Hill reported that the emergency regulation, which imposes some limitations on transgender adults and adolescents, was first published by Attorney General Andrew Bailey in March. In the emergency order approved on Thursday, gender-affirming care is "an unfair, deceptive, fraudulent, or otherwise unlawful practice" for any individual or health institution in Missouri to recommend or give gender-affirming health treatment to patients without certain safeguards in place. These safeguards include disclosures made with informed permission and in-depth psychological or psychiatric evaluations.
The emergency rule also states that it is essential to maintain the public's health, safety, and welfare, as well as the government's vital interest. Bailey's duties as attorney general include protecting consumers, including children, from damage and looking into fraud and abuse in the state's healthcare reimbursement system.
Also Read: Doctor Challenges Opponents' Understanding of Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
Additional Requirements and Limitations Criticized by Some Advocates
Adults must go through 18 months of mental or psychological evaluations with a therapist as part of the limits by Attorney General Andrew Bailey. According to ABC News, the assessments look at developmental impacts on the person's present gender identification and look for any potential comorbidities in relation to their mental health.
Additionally, Both adults and kids are impacted by this ruling, and healthcare practitioners must demonstrate that the patient has displayed a medically documented, long-lasting, persistent, and strong pattern of gender dysphoria for at least three years.
LGBTQ activists openly condemned Bailey's declaration that she would restrict health care for adults and kids, claiming it was motivated by prejudice rather than objective data. The LGBTQ+ public policy and advocacy group PROMO in Missouri criticized the Attorney General's claims as being "maliciously cherry-picked" based on unreliable evidence in a statement provided to ABC News. They contended that his use of the emergency rule to disseminate "disgusting, obstructive, and misleading information" was made possible by this strategy.
The Missouri people were reassured by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri in response to the rule that they intend to challenge Attorney General Bailey for his criticism of gender-affirming care.
According to UPI, The two civil rights organizations claimed in a joint statement that they think the attorney general's emergency order is based on false, deceptive, and disproven allegations. They claimed that it ignores the strong scientific and medical evidence in favor of gender-affirming care, as well as the knowledge of medical experts who deal with transgender people on a regular basis. Additionally, they characterized the rule as a stunning abuse of Missouri's consumer protection laws intended to politicize the provision of critical medical care.
Related Article: Arrests Made as Pro-Trans Protesters Swarm Kentucky State Capitol During Veto Override Vote; Two States Ban Gender-Affirming Care on Minors
