Will a Missouri judge block AG Bailey’s trans care restrictions? Hearing set for this week
A St. Louis County judge could decide on Wednesday whether to temporarily block Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s restrictions on transgender health care for people of all ages.
Circuit Court Judge Kristine Kerr, appointed by former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in 2012, will oversee a motion hearing in a lawsuit against the Missouri restrictions 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Louis County Court in Clayton.
Kerr could issue a ruling at the hearing or sometime after.
The lawsuit, filed Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and LGBTQ civil rights group Lambda Legal, asks Kerr to issue a temporary restraining order against Bailey’s restrictions, which are set to go into effect on Thursday.
If Kerr allows Bailey’s emergency rule to take effect, it would make Missouri the first state to severely restrict gender-affirming care for adults, in addition to children.
The civil rights groups argue that the rule violates the state constitution. Bailey, a Republican, had not filed an answer to the lawsuit as of Tuesday, but has publicly defended his restrictions.
The rule includes requiring 15 separate hourly therapy sessions over 18 months before a person can start transgender care.
The restrictions have alarmed Missouri’s transgender community and doctors as adult and youth transgender Missourians consider whether to stock up on treatments before the rule takes effect.
Bailey’s emergency rule relies on the state’s consumer protection laws and includes a provision that bans doctors from providing puberty blockers or hormone therapy unless a patient has shown three consecutive years of “medically documented, long-lasting, persistent and intense” gender dysphoria.
It also bans treatment until all of a patient’s underlying mental health issues have been resolved.
