• Nature - Earth - Countries - United States - U.S. states - Missouri - Government of Missouri - Attacks on transgender persons
• ont-uid: lai4lohl
• This is the main entry for attacks on transgender persons by the U.S. state of Missouri.
This category captures anti-transgender initiatives (e.g.
"emergency rules", "executive orders", etc. that are not introduced into the Missouri General Assembly.
• curation date: 2023-05-01
• Andrew Bailey (born 1981) is an American attorney and politician who currently serves as the Missouri Attorney General, an office he assumed by appointment in January 2023.
TRANSGENDER CARE BANS.
In April 2023, Andrew Bailey released an emergency rule requiring health care providers to screen individuals before providing gender-affirming health care to transgender people.
The rule is believed would be the first such ban in the nation as it would apply to adults, rather than just children.
The rule would take effect April 27 and expire in February 2024.
Bailey said the rule was justified because the medical procedures were "experimental" and required "substantial guardrails." Contrary to Bailey's statements, gender-affirming care is well established and supported by medical research, whereas the emergency rule includes several debunked claims.
This political intervention in medical care aligns with bills filed in other states, however Bailey has escalated the process through the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act in which no elected representatives are consulted.
The rule requires healthcare providers to document gender dysphoria for a period of three years before prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgery.
Transgender individuals would be required to undergo 15 sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist over at least 18 months before receiving care.
The rule also requires health care providers must have three "most recent, consecutive years" of medical documentation showing gender dysphoria.
The rule requires providers to ensure "mental health comorbidities" have been "treated and resolved." The rule requires providers to document that the patient has been screened for autism and social contagion and, for minors, social media addiction.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bailey_(politician)#Transgender_care_bans
• see also: Nature - Earth - Countries - United States - Politics - Andrew Bailey
• (2023-05-01, https://newrepublic.com/post/172330/missouri-anti-trans-health-care-ban) "Judge Blocks Extreme Missouri Anti-Trans Health Care Ban.
Missouri State Attorney General Andrew Bailey's emergency rule would have forbidden gender-affirming care for both children and adults." On Monday (2023-05-01) a judge temporarily blocked Missouri's unprecedented ban on gender-affirming care for people of all ages, warning that the rule would cause significant harm if it were to go into effect.
Missouri state Attorney General Andrew Bailey drew widespread condemnation when he introduced an emergency rule in mid-April (2023-04) that would ban lifesaving gender-affirming care for minors and adults.
The measure - which would be the first in the United States to ban health care for transgender adults - was set to go into effect on 2023-04-27.
The rule would require people to wait three years before they can begin receiving gender-affirming care.
They would also have to attend therapy for 18 months before qualifying for health care.
In her ruling, Judge Ellen Ribaudo wrote that the people suing to block the rule would "be subjected to immediate and irreparable loss, damage or injury if the Attorney General is permitted to enforce the Emergency Rule." What's more, "its broad, sweeping provisions were implemented without further fact-finding or evidence," Ellen Ribaudo said.
Andrew Bailey's rule is stayed until 2023-05-11, when Ellen Ribaudo scheduled a hearing for the lawsuit - unless Ellen Ribaudo extends her order.
"Today's ruling marks a win for transgender Missourians over an unprecedented attempt by the Attorney General to unilaterally legislate and harm their right to self-expression, bodily autonomy, and access to lifesaving health care," Gillian Wilcox - deputy director of litigation for the ACLU of Missouri, said in a statement.
Critics argued that Andrew Bailey vastly overstepped his position by implementing the rule instead of letting a bill move through the state legislature.
"We don't allow attorneys general to legislate, and we don't allow them to play doctor," Tony Rothert - an ACLU attorney - said at a hearing last Wednesday (2023-04-26).
Andrew Bailey and many other Republicans backing bans on trans health care have argued that the various restrictions are to protect children.
In reality, gender-affirming care decreases the amount of depression and anxiety that trans and nonbinary teenagers feel, and it makes them less likely to consider suicide.
Andrew Bailey also doesn't really have a leg to stand on, considering his measure would have targeted adults too.
"He (Andrew Bailey) is essentially attacking the entire trans community at this point," Robert Fischer - spokesman for the LGBTQ rights group PROMO - told the Associated Press when Andrew Bailey's emergency rule was first announced.
"It's no longer just about children."
• (2023-05-10, https://truthout.org/articles/in-response-to-mos-attack-on-trans-people-kansas-city-may-become-a-safe-haven/) "In Response to MO's Attack on Trans People, Kansas City May Become a Safe Haven.
Trans advocates say that the safe haven designation is needed to combat the state's attacks on LGBTQ people." City officials in Kansas City, Missouri, are considering designating Kansas City a sanctuary city for transgender people seeking gender-affirming care in response to the state's attorney general - Andrew Bailey - instituting some of the most extreme anti-trans policies in the United States.
In 2023-04 Andrew Bailey instituted an emergency rule that effectively banned access to gender-affirming health care for transgender adults.
In reaction to the emergency rule - which was set to go into effect in late 2023-04 (curation date: 2023-05-10) - some medical providers immediately sent emails to their clients, refusing to fill prescriptions in fear of being in conflict with the law.
Several advocacy groups sued to prevent the regulations from going into effect, alleging that the restrictions went well beyond Andrew Bailey's power to regulate consumer protection matters.
A St. Louis County, Missouri judge - Ellen Ribaudo - has granted a temporary restraining order of Andrew Bailey's emergency rule, barring enforcement of the rule as the lawsuit progresses.
"This is a novel use of the attorney general's power to promulgate emergency rules under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act that has never previously been subjected to judicial scrutiny and may impermissibly invade a function reserved to the legislature," Ellen Ribaudo wrote.
If the Kansas City Council passes the sanctuary resolution, transgender people would be able to legally and safely access gender-affirming care in Kansas City, Missouri regardless of the lawsuit's outcome.
If the state passes a law or resolution that imposes civil or criminal punishments for providing transgender people with lifesaving health care, Kansas City, Missouri will make enforcing those measures "their lowest priority." "We don't know if these state laws are going to be signed, if the attorney general's order is going to be approved," said Justice Horn, chair of the LGBTQ Commission.
"We didn't want the state (of Missouri) to come after us, we want to be proactive and do what we can to protect the community.
The basic message is that folks need to know we are going to do everything we can to ensure they have access to care." In addition to targeting transgender adults, Missouri is also one of at least 14 states that have passed laws or enacted policies that restrict access to gender-affirming care for trans youth.
According to a 2023 national mental health survey conducted by The Trevor Project, anti-LGBTQ policies like these are responsible for the poor mental health of one in three LGBTQ young people .
Missouri has increasingly targeted LGBTQ people in recent years, with Missouri state lawmakers introducing an astonishing number of anti-LGBTQ bills this session.
The Kansas City, Missouri sanctuary resolution is an attempt to combat the mental health crisis LGBTQ kids are experiencing in the face of these legislative attacks.
"There comes a time when you have to speak up and say to our LGTBQ residents, especially children, who are wondering if their city (Kansas City) and state (Missouri) are accepting of them, we have to stand up right now and say, 'Yes, you are welcome in Kansas City, we will protect you," said Council member Andrea Bough - who co-sponsored the resolution with Mayor Quinton Lucas and councilman Eric Bunch.
• (2023-05-09, updated 2023-05-11, https://kcbeacon.org/stories/2023/05/09/kansas-city-trans-healthcare-safe-haven-resolution/) "Kansas City Council votes to make Kansas City a safe haven for trans health care.
As Missouri politicians ban gender-affirming care for minors, a new Kansas City Council resolution aims to protect the Kansas City trans community from state actions targeting gender-affirming care." By a vote of 11-1, Kansas City Council has approved a resolution declaring Kansas City, Missouri a safe haven for gender-affirming care.
Councilmember Heather Hall (https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/city-officials/city-council-members/councilwoman-heather-hall ; https://heatherhall.org/about/) - who represents the 1st District - was the sole vote against the resolution.
On 2023-05-10 - the same day that the Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee voted to recommend this resolution - the Missouri General Assembly passed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
For the past year (curation date: 2023-05-12) transgender people in Missouri and their families have been shuttling back and forth to the capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri to testify against legislation aimed at banning gender-affirming health care.
But for the first time on Wednesday (2023-05-10), trans Kansas Citians flocked to Kansas City Hall to support a measure that could protect these treatments from statewide bans.
The Kansas City Council resolution - sponsored by Andrea Bough, who represents the 6th District at large, Mayor Quinton Lucas, and Eric Bunch, who represents the 4th District - declares Kansas City, Missouri a "safe haven" (sanctuary city; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_city) for gender-affirming care - instructing Kansas City personnel not to cooperate with Missouri state efforts to enforce a possible future health care ban.
MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL'S TRANSGENDER HEALTH CARE RULE.
Missouri made national headlines in 2023-04 when Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced an emergency rule that effectively banned gender-affirming health care for transgender people of all ages.
Shortly afterward, a Missouri state judge issued a temporary restraining order on Andrew Bailey's emergency rule, preventing it from going into effect until at least 2023-07-20.
Now that LGBTQ+ advocates have gotten a peek into what might lie in their future, they are wasting no time preparing.
"There was no question about whether we needed to do something," Andrea Bough told The Kansas City Beacon.
Access to gender-affirming care - which can include puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgeries - is supported by every major medical association.
Kansas City's LGBTQ Commission and local organizations including Transformations KC ("Transformations; https://transformationskc.org/) rallied support for the Kansas City, Missouri resolution declaring Kansas City, Missouri a safe haven for gender-affirming care, and they hope that this will be the first of many actions taken to protect transgender people in Kansas City against Missouri state legislation.
The LGBTQ Commission brought the resolution to the Kansas City Council in 2023-04 as a way to formally preserve access to gender-affirming care before the state of Missouri passes restrictions on health care, instead of reacting afterward.
"There are a lot of folks who advised us to wait, see what happens with the attorney general, wait for a bill to happen," Justice Horn - the Chair of Kansas City's LGBTQ Commission - said during an Instagram Live on 2023-05-08.
"As of today, this care is still legal in the state of Missouri.
And we want to codify those rights on municipal books." WHAT DOES THE RESOLUTION DO?
After the (Kansas City, Missouri) LGBTQ Commission approached Andrea Bough with the resolution declaring Kansas City, Missouri a safe haven for gender-affirming care, Quinton Lucas and Eric Bunch signed on.
In light of Missouri's statewide ban on gender-affirming care for minors, this resolution instructs Kansas City, Missouri not to prosecute organizations for providing care or individuals for receiving it.
Kansas City also will not participate in arresting or detaining anyone for these reasons.
Kansas City personnel are instructed not to provide any information, such as medical records, to another county or state if that information is to be used to help find or prosecute someone for providing or receiving gender-affirming care.
"If at some point the ban goes into effect, we're not going to do anything as a city to either prosecute at this level or to help in the prosecution," Andrea Bough said on 2023-05-08.
"We're not going to make it easy." Because Kansas City does not have control over its own police department under the system of state control, the resolution simply encourages the Kansas City Police Department to take similar action.
KANSAS CITY TRANS ADVOCATES SEE IT AS A STARTING POINT.
A representative of Quinton Lucas - who as the city's mayor also serves on the Board of Police Commissioners - said the Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas will submit a letter to the (Kansas City) Board of Police Commissioners asking the Kansas City Police Department to adopt a similar policy.
Quinton Lucas' representative did not say prior to publication whether Quinton Lucas intends to introduce a policy himself at the next Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
To pass, the policy would need the support of at least two of the governor-appointed police board members.
Trans advocacy groups are also hoping for commitments from the Jackson County, Clay County, and Platte County Missouri prosecutors that they will not comply with a statewide ban on gender-affirming care.
Merrique Jenson - the executive director and founder of Transformations KC ("Transformations; https://transformationskc.org/) - a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports and advocates for trans women of color - supports the resolution declaring Kansas City, Missouri a safe haven for gender-affirming care but advocated on 2023-05-10 for a few additions.
"Just like they have a recommendation for the Kansas City Police Department, I would love to see the same sort of recommendation or encouragement included to the different counties that they will not prosecute people as well," Merrique Jenson told The Kansas City Beacon.
"It's better than nothing.
And it is making an active commitment on paper to trans people and their families, and I think that is certainly worth merit." Merrique Jenson sees this legislation as a great starting point for the city to bring trans people and specifically trans women of color into the governing process.
Merrique Jenson said that although Kansas City tends to be an affirming place for trans people in general, trans people of color have a very different experience.
For this reason, Merrique Jenson said, it's important that Kansas City not only protect existing gender-affirming care, but also find ways to make access to that care equitable.
"We know that trans people of color or trans women of color and trans kids without supportive families are still not receiving the same types of gender-affirming care services and practices as often white trans kids or white trans people with insurance," Merrique Jenson said.
"But I think that this resolution could open the door to further conversations and commitments, and that's the part that is the most promising."
• (2023-05-12, https://www.commondreams.org/news/kansas-city-lgbtq-sanctuary) " Amid GOP Assault on Trans People, Kansas City, Missouri Declares Itself an LGBTQ+ Sanctuary.
"These are some of the best protections of any city out there," said one trans rights advocate." In a near-unanimous vote on Thursday (2023-05-11), local Missouri officials approved a resolution declaring Kansas City, Missouri a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ people after Missouri Republican state lawmakers passed legislation that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and some adults - part of a nationwide GOP assault on trans rights.
The resolution - approved in an 11-1 vote - states that "Kansas city personnel shall not criminally prosecute or impose administrative penalties on an individual or organization for providing, seeking, receiving, or assisting another individual who is seeking or receiving gender-affirming healthcare." "In the event any law or regulation is passed in the state of Missouri which imposes criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions on an individual or organization for providing, seeking, receiving, or assisting another individual who is seeking or receiving gender-affirming healthcare," the resolution continues, "city personnel shall make enforcement of said law or regulation their lowest priority." Kansas City, Missouri Councilmember Heather Hall (https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/city-officials/city-council-members/councilwoman-heather-hall ; https://heatherhall.org/about/) cast the only no vote against the measure, the passage of which local trans rights advocates celebrated as "an important first step." "I look forward to trans leaders and Kansas City working together to address the health disparities in our communities and ways we can have sustainable funding and programming reaching all trans people," Merrique Jenson - the founder of Transformations KC ("Transformations; https://transformationskc.org/) - said following Thursday (2023-05-11)'s vote.
As The Kansas City Beacon reported Tuesday (2023-05-09: https://kcbeacon.org/stories/2023/05/09/kansas-city-trans-healthcare-safe-haven-resolution/), trans Missourians and their families "have been shuttling back and forth to the capitol in Jefferson City to testify against legislation aimed at banning gender-affirming healthcare." "But for the first time on Wednesday (2023-05-10), trans Kansas Citians flocked to Kansas City Hall to support a measure that could protect these treatments from statewide bans," the outlet added.
"The LGBTQ Commission brought the resolution to the Kansas City Council in 2023-04 as a way to formally preserve access to gender-affirming care before the state of Missouri passes restrictions on healthcare, instead of reacting afterward." In the coming days, Republican Missouri Governor Mike Parson is expected to sign into law the newly passed legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, making the state one of more than a dozen that have approved laws or policies prohibiting the lifesaving healthcare.
The Associated Press noted Thursday (2023-05-11) that the Kansas City sanctuary resolution passed as a judge is considering "a proposed emergency rule from Republican state Attorney General Andrew Bailey that would require adults and children to undergo more than a year of therapy - and fulfill other requirements before they could receive gender-affirming treatment." After Missouri state Republicans passed a pair of anti-trans bills earlier this week (2023-05), the ACLU of Missouri pledged to "explore all options to fight these bans and to expand the rights of trans Missourians." "Both bans attempt to erase transness from Missouri," the ACLU of Missouri warned - referring to the Missouri GOP's attempt to ban gender-affirming care, and prevent trans girls and women from playing on female sports teams.
"Every person in the state (of Missouri) should be alarmed by this weaponization of the government to intimidate people through the denial of basic healthcare and exclusion from extracurricular activities," the ACLU of Missouri said.