Missouri takes aim at gender affirming care for youth
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Missouri on Monday became the latest conservative state to attempt to bar trans youth from gender affirming care.
Driving the news: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office is issuing an emergency regulation "clarifying that, because gender transition interventions are experimental," they are prohibited under state law.
The big picture: In a nationwide push to restrict gender-affirming care, more than 100 anti-trans health care bills have been introduced in state legislatures so far this year.
What they're saying: Bailey claimed in a news release that regulation is "necessary due to the skyrocketing number of gender transition interventions, despite rising concerns in the medical community that these procedures are experimental and lack clinical evidence of safety or success."
Be smart: Health experts say most anti-trans state bills are based on scientifically inaccurate information, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes.
- Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, consider this type of care to be medically necessary and potentially lifesaving for transgender youth.
Zoom in: Nearly one in five transgender minors attempted suicide in the past year, according to a 2022 survey by the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention services.
- 71% of LGBTQ youth — including 86% of trans and/or nonbinary youth — said the debate around state laws "restricting the rights of LGBTQ young people" has negatively impacted their mental health.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
