Missouri judge temporarily blocks state’s near-total ban on trans healthcare
A state judge in Missouri temporarily blocked restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender people just hours before they were due to take effect.
It came after Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an emergency ruling with the goal of limiting gender-affirming care for trans youth and adults.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo issued the ruling on 27 April, effectively buying the court more time to consider whether or not it should approve emergency relief in a lawsuit seeking to strike down the restrictions.
She also said she needed more time to review briefs that will be submitted by Bailey, which had not yet been filed, before issuing a decision on the plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order on 1 May. READ MORE: Montana Republicans ban trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from House floor “We are grateful for the court’s decision to issue a temporary stay,” said a statement issued by ACLU Missouri. “No less than the health and well-being of thousands of transgender Missourians is at stake. “Gender-affirming care is supported by overwhelming scientific data, decades of clinical experience, and the medical consensus of major medical organisations in the United States. “The decision on whether or not to allow the implementation of this rule, which ignores the proven sciences and experience of health care providers, will have an immediate impact on Missourians of all ages and their access to lifesaving medical care.” Lambda Legal and the ACLU are among the various legal teams who filed a petition to block Bailey’s emergency order, which states that those seeking this type of care must experience three years of “long-lasting, persistent and intense” gender dysphoria.
