Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has announced his office is issuing an emergency regulation to address gender transition medical procedures for minors.
The updated regulation clarifies that because gender transition medical procedures are experimental, they are covered under state law governing “unfair, deceptive and unconscionable business practices, including in administering healthcare services” — thereby rendering the procedures illegal for minors without certain requirements.
Bailey’s office says the regulation is necessary because of “the skyrocketing number of gender transition interventions” occurring, even despite concerns by medical professionals over a lack of evidence of safety or success.
“As Attorney General, I will protect children and enforce the laws as written, which includes upholding state law on experimental gender transition interventions,” Bailey said in a press release. “Even Europe recognizes that mutilating children for the sake of a woke, leftist agenda has irreversible consequences, and countries like Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom have all sharply curtailed these procedures. I am dedicated to using every legal tool at my disposal to stand in the gap and protect children from being subject to inhumane science experiments.”
In the release on the regulation, the Missouri AG’s Office published specific guardrails on when the procedures may be performed, including informed consent disclosures informing patients that (among other things):
- Puberty blocker drugs and cross-sex hormones are experimental and not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- The FDA has warned puberty blockers can lead to brain swelling and blindness
- Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare says the risk of puberty blockers for minors outweighs the benefits
- One scientific study notes that an individual whose friend identifies as transgender is “more than 70 times” as likely to similarly identify as transgender, suggesting that many individuals “incorrectly believe themselves to be transgender and in need of transition” because of social factors
- The Endocrine Society found that about 85 percent of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria grew out of it
State law also prohibits gender transition procedures when the medical provider fails to:
- Ensure the patient has had 15 separate, hourly psychological evaluations over the course of at least 18 months
- Ensure that any mental health comorbidities have been treated and resolved
- Obtain and keep written consent
- Ensure (at least annually) that the patient isn’t simply experiencing social contagion with regard to their gender identity
