With details still uncertain, Missouri Senate to debate bills aimed at transgender youth

JEFFERSON CITY — Legislation banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth and restricting their ability to play in youth sports is expected to hit the Missouri Senate floor this week, but the precise details of that legislation remain murky.

The upcoming debate would mark the first time this year bills aimed at transgender youth are brought to the floor of either chamber in the General Assembly, after hours of passionate public testimony and press conferences by supporters and opponents alike.

Efforts to ban transgender girls from playing on girls' youth sports teams, as well as to ban gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical procedures, have both been proposed and await consideration by the full Senate.

The debate comes amid a national push among conservatives to legislate on issues relating to transgender youth, with Republican-led legislatures putting the measures front and center.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Cindy O'Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, told reporters Thursday that she expected the topic to come up for formal debate soon; although negotiations are ongoing among members and between parties, she said her aim was to pass one bill, with language that includes provisions on both sports and health care.

"We'd like to take care of it in one shot," O'Laughlin said.

More:Missouri bills on trans athletes, health care advance amid GOP push on LGBTQ+ issues

Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, a Democrat from Independence, said that there was progress being made toward a compromise that wouldn't "blow up the Senate," but acknowledged there are "lines we won't cross." (He declined to specify, saying negotiations were still ongoing.) With the issue being of high importance to Republicans, he said it was possible they could weigh using a rare procedural maneuver to end debate and move to a vote.

"I will say that it's going to be extremely difficult for us ... it is something that they really want badly and are willing to do a lot of extreme options," Rizzo said.

Debate is likely to happen either Tuesday or Wednesday, and could go late into the night. If an agreement is reached, the legislation requires both an initial voice vote and a later formal vote to be sent to the House.

Bill sponsors tout 'abuse' and mistreatment in transgender health care, but lack examples in Missouri

Lawmakers sponsoring and advocating for legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors have pointed to the possibility of "abuse" or mistreatment in the process. But sponsors of the House and Senate versions say they haven't spoken to any Missouri families whose experiences with gender-affirming care reflect those allegations.

"I would say that if we wait until a Missouri resident is telling us this, we have waited too late," said Rep. Brad Hudson, a Republican from Cape Fair whose legislation would also ban transition services for incarcerated adults. "Let's do something about this now, before somebody from Missouri is having to have this conversation with someone."

Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican whose legislation could be up for debate in the Senate, declined to be interviewed for this story but provided written answers to questions about his bill.

"No," he wrote when asked if he had spoken to any Missouri families alleging abuse or mistreatment. "I am, however, confident that individuals are undergoing procedures which are similar, if not the same as those with whom I have spoken."

He referenced a letter written by leaders at Washington University in St. Louis in response to a request from the attorney general to halt its transgender center's gender-affirming care, arguing that it "indicates that there is reason to believe procedures on adolescents are being performed in Missouri."

More:Missouri Republicans renew attempts to restrict transgender sports, health care, education

The attorney general's investigation into the center is ongoing, and a former case manager has alleged in an affidavit that families receiving care from the center were rushed toward medical interventions. In reporting published last week in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Missouri Independent, families who had received care from the center disputed those allegations and provided details on how their care was prescribed.

The announcement of the AG's investigation, alongside a separate one from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, sparked renewed efforts by Republicans in Jefferson City to prioritize banning gender-affirming care. A group of sponsors of early versions of the legislation held a press conference at the Capitol last month.

They were joined by Chloe Cole and Luka Hein — activists who received gender-affirming care as minors before "detransitioning" and who have since renounced their care. They have amassed social media followings and been active in efforts to pass similar legislation in other states, including Kentucky this week. Neither received their care in Missouri — Cole hailed from California and Hein from Nebraska.

Families warn bills could hurt transgender children, and drive them out of state

Over hours of passionate testimony earlier this session, families of transgender children and LGBTQ+ rights advocates warned lawmakers that bills to limit transgender student athletes and minors' access to gender-affirming care could put them at greater risk for self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Multiple families said they would be forced to leave the state if the legislation was passed.

More:Trans Missourians and families tell lawmakers proposed bills could have fatal consequences

"I'm concerned for those families for a number of reasons," Hudson said, acknowledging that "gender dysphoria is real" but saying he didn't recall any families having conversations with him personally and saying they would leave the state. "I do want to make it very clear that I care for those families in what those parents are dealing with. And as a legislator, as a policymaker, I want to see this issue dealt with in such a way that these children can get the help they need, because they do need help, but will not be harmed."

Moon said he was concerned "that parents are willing to support a child's decision to make permanent and irreversible changes to the child's body."

"If we err, it should be on the side of caution," Moon wrote.

Medical professionals who testified against the bills during committee hearings said that surgical procedures for minors are rare and not recommended by major medical associations. Patients can begin cross-sex hormone therapy or puberty blockers prior to 18, though families who received care at the St. Louis transgender health center said that process was meticulous and carefully defined, the Post-Dispatch reported.

After drama in Senate last week, differing opinions on what final bill may look like

Moon attempted to bring his bill banning gender-affirming care up for debate last week, breaking with the procedure set out by the floor leader and prompting the Senate to adjourn for the day.

O'Laughlin, who holds significant control over which bills come up for debate in the chamber, had asked Moon to put the bill aside as negotiations continue. He declined to do so, deeming it a top priority that should be acted upon immediately. O'Laughlin took the floor and promptly ended the Senate's work for the day.

"I am confident this bill, if debated all night tonight, would not pass," she said last Monday. "In an effort to bring this up at a time that it will pass, I'm forced to move to adjourn."

It remains to be seen what form the bill would take in order to pass. Asked if he believed "significant changes" had to be made for his bill to win approval, Moon simply wrote "no." He also expressed confidence that the Republican caucus would support his bill as is.

"I have yet to find a MO Republican Senator who is opposed to passing the SAFE Act," he wrote.

Rizzo, the Democratic leader in the Senate, offered a different assessment.

"I think there are Republicans ... that are cognizant of overreaching," he said. "Does that change the fact that a majority of them want to do something that I would have considered probably a huge government overreach? No. But I think that some Republicans are more sensitive than others."

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: MO Senate to debate bills aimed at trans youth, with details murky