JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers approved significant restrictions on transgender people Wednesday, sending the Republican governor bills to ban gender-affirming health care and prevent transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams.
Transgender minors in Missouri no longer would have access to puberty blockers, hormones or gender-affirming surgery under one bill passed by the GOP-led House Wednesday. The ban also affects some adults — Medicaid health care won’t cover any gender-affirming care in the state, and surgery will no longer be available to prisoners and inmates.
Another bill, to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female sports teams, would apply from kindergarten through college, both at public and private schools. Schools that allow transgender girls and women to play on such teams would lose state funding.
Governor Mike Parson is expected to sign both bills.
In the hours after the House passed the bills, politicians and organizations provided statements on the legislation.
5 On Your Side spoke to one family who said, as parents, it should be up to them and their child to decide what's best for their health care.
Danielle Meert and her husband James Thurow said they've seen their 16-year-old trans son flourish.
"Once he came out to us as transgender, and got the care he needed, he has thrived," Thurow said.
They are one of many families impacted by the bill heading to the governor's desk.
"This is medical care our son's doctors say he needs, that we as parents think he needs, and that he wants," Thurow said.
Meert said their son is lucky: He's grandfathered in, so he'll keep getting care.
"The path that my child was on before we got to the Gender Center wasn't the right one, and it's devastating to know other kids aren't going to have access to that same healthcare," Meert said.
It's the domino-effect some are worried this legislation could have.
"At a time where Missouri and St. Louis are losing population, these restrictive laws can contribute to more population loss, because people want to be in a state where they can get the care they want," 5 On Your Side Political Analyst Anita Manion said.
She said more lawsuits could come.
"I think similarly to bans we see in abortion, this puts doctors in a position to try to figure out what the law is, and what care they can offer their patients," she said.
Meert said her son's transition was something their family took the time to grow.
"Eventually we will be on the right side of history, but it's going to be a marathon," she said.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones
"Transgender Missourians deserve to live their authentic lives. The anti-trans bills passed by the Missouri Legislature are ugly, hateful attacks on our youth that will drive them and their families out of our state in search of a more welcoming place to live.
"In St. Louis, we stand in solidarity with all who are fighting for the right to live freely, regardless of their gender identity or expression. Our LGBTQIA+ community partners have been on the frontlines to protect our transgender residents, and we are ready to continue working with them."
Vivent Health
Today’s passage of legislation by the Missouri Legislature, with the support of Governor Mike Parson, is a shameful and harmful attack on the health and well-being of transgender people in Missouri. This legislation singles out a group of people based on who they are and creates significant barriers in achieving health and equality.
Gender-affirming care for transgender individuals is safe and is based on decades of clinical experience and research. This legislation contradicts the broad consensus of medical professionals, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and American Academy of Pediatrics, that have overwhelmingly agreed age-appropriate gender-affirming care is safe, necessary, and life-saving.
“Make no mistake, every time individuals are stigmatized by legislation such as this, they are pushed further away from receiving the life-saving healthcare they need. People – including children with the support of their parents - who enter into gender affirming care do not do so lightly and health care professionals providing this care do so with the best interest of their patients in mind,” says Brandon Hill, Interim President and CEO of Vivent Health, a leading provider of HIV prevention, care and support. “This bill reinforces the prejudices and injustices that lead to poor health outcomes among our LGBTQ+ community, including significant heightened risk for self-harm and suicide.”
ACLU of Missouri
“Gender-affirming care saves lives. The Jefferson City politicians’ intentional choice to abuse transgender Missourians will devastate trans people and their families. Despite recommendations from every major medical association based on peer-reviewed studies supporting the necessity of life-saving gender-affirming care, the Missouri legislature again seeks to impose politicians’ will in place of allowing medical professionals with the informed consent of their patients to provide the care that is in the best interest of their patients. As they have with abortion, politicians again demonstrate they do not care about the impact on Missouri families.
“Both bans attempt to erase transness from Missouri. Every person in the state should be alarmed by this weaponization of the government to intimidate people through the denial of basic health care and exclusion from extracurricular activities. The Attorney General has already shown that erasing trans youth is just the start of the despot tactics politicians will utilize to eliminate vulnerable Missourians from public if it will further their personal political pursuits.
“The ACLU of Missouri will continue to explore all options to fight these bans and to expand the rights of trans Missourians.”
PROMO Missouri
“Today is an incredibly devastating day for transgender Missourians, for families raising transgender youth, BIPOC and trans women of color who will only see an increase in violence against them, and rural trans Missourians who have less resources available to them. Missouri’s state government is waging an all-out war on transgender Missourians.
“The lives of transgender people in our state — and in our country — have not only been prioritized as political pawns for elected leaders to advance their careers, but the rhetoric around who transgender Missourians truly are has become chalk-full of disgusting lies and dangerous misunderstandings.
“Since the beginning of the legislative session, our voices were not listened to and our stories were not taken seriously as public hearings were cut short, bill authors and sponsors left the room, and conversations fell on deaf ears. It continued today when Republican Rep. Chris Sander and other Democrat Representatives were unable to speak in opposition. ‘I’m not questioning being gay, I’m questioning being a Republican,’ said Rep. Chris Sander.
“As advocates, parents, and Missourians who value personal freedom and inclusion, we will continue to fight every day until every single transgender Missourian is able to live openly and honestly, and thrive within our state."
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri
Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, provided the following statement:
“Just like we saw with abortion access, state politicians are inserting themselves in our exam rooms, this time attacking the trans community. This anti-science ideological crusade is straight out of the anti-abortion playbook — sham investigations, character assassination hit pieces, and inflammatory disinformation to impose cruel and insurmountable bans on lifesaving care and continue legislating our freedoms out of existence. Transgender and gender-expansive youth are terrified because Missouri politicians have waged a harmful, fanatical war on their existence. The Missouri Legislature’s ignorant, transphobic legislation furthers the attorney general’s rule banning gender-affirming care that was blocked in the court just last month — these attacks on the trans youth’s ability to access health care, play sports, and live their lives authentically are an embarrassment to the Show-Me state.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all patients are supported, seen, and cared for. Any patient wanting to continue their gender-affirming care in a state that welcomes people of all identities: our Fairview Heights, Illinois, health center is open to you and we are here to help you make plans to get care.”
Pro-Choice Missouri
Pro-Choice Missouri’s Executive Director Mallory Schwarz provided the following statement:
"Decades of false compromises by our legislative leaders slowly chipped away at our access to abortion until politicians grabbed enough power to BAN it entirely. The very same politicians who banned abortion in Missouri are behind these attacks today and using the same playbook rooted in disinformation, stigma, and fear. Separating and criminalizing our families has always been the end game for the party of power and control.
"These cruel attacks on Missourians and their families who are only trying to live as their most authentic selves — in the face of the majority of Missourians who support basic compassion and care for our neighbors — demonstrates a rejection of all of our fundamental rights to self-determination, autonomy, and dignity.
"Missourians deserve more than grown bullies in suits picking on kids from granite buildings, more than the harassment and shame that these attacks elicit, and more than disingenuous attempts to pit us against each other in order to consolidate politicians' political power. Missouri children deserve more. Missouri families deserve more.
"Today our message for trans children and communities in Missouri is simple: we love you, you deserve to be here, and we will never stop fighting for you and alongside you."