State legislative records or official state announcements

Missouri Court Upholds Ban Prompted by Whistleblower on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

Nov 25, 2024, 09:18 PM

A Missouri state court has upheld a law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, including surgeries and hormone treatments such as puberty blockers. The law, which prevents doctors from performing transgender surgeries and administering hormone treatments to anyone under 18, was challenged but found constitutional by the judge in the case Noe v. Parson. The court's ruling cited a lack of consensus on the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatments, stating that "the evidence at trial showed severe disagreement as to whether adolescent gender dysphoria drug and surgical treatment was ethical at all," and emphasized the state's "abiding interest in protecting minors." The state's ban was prompted by whistleblower Jamie Reed's allegations at the Washington University pediatric gender clinic. Missouri becomes the first state in the nation to defend such a law at the trial court level.