REPRIEVE: Judge temporarily blocks Missouri’s trans care ban

REPRIEVE: Judge temporarily blocks Missouri's trans care ban

For now, transgender individuals in Missouri can continue receiving gender-affirming care, after a judge blocked a new law that would bar access to these services, but the ruling extends only through the end of this month.

The ruling comes as the ACLU and Lambda Legal, along with a team of attorneys, fight on behalf of clients in Missouri who rely on access to these services.

But in the ruling, Judge Ellen Ribaudo makes it clear that part of the reasoning is that the state’s Attorney General has not yet filed an opposition, and the court will rule further after receiving that information.

Though right-wing opposition to gender-affirming healthcare has been heavily framed as protecting children, this law would have limited access to adults as well, forbidding them to access care until assessed for autism and “social media addiction,” and to have such issues treated until “resolved.”

The ACLU describes this as “play[ing] politics with life-saving medical care,” and explains that the law is based on “distorted, misleading, and debunked claims” that block access to medications and treatments that have long-established precedents for use and safety. From the Guardian:

“The rule will require people to have experienced an “intense pattern” of documented gender dysphoria for three years and to have received at least 15 hourly sessions with a therapist over at least 18 months before receiving puberty blockers, hormones, surgery or other treatment. Patients must be screened for autism and “social media addiction”. Any psychiatric symptoms from mental health issues would have to be treated and resolved.”

The ACLU points out that this is a case of a politician circumventing doctors and their ability to determine the necessary medical care for their patients, and hopes that upon reviewing all the evidence, the court will further block the law from going into effect.

The Missouri ban is only one of more than 100 attempts across the country in the past few years to block transgender individuals from accessing necessary care, often targeting children specifically, and often falsely conflating gender-affirming care for minors with surgical treatments, which are not the standard of care for trans kids.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: