On Wednesday, Missouri became the latest GOP led state to ban risky “gender reassignment” surgeries for children. Reportedly, the bill grandfathers in children who are already receiving such treatments. The law will also bar the state’s Medicaid system from covering the cost of such treatments.
The bill also blocks inmates in state prisons and jails from receiving “gender reassignment” surgeries.
In addition, the Show Me State’s legislature passed a bill that prevents male-to-female transgender persons from competing in sports intended for females. Should schools allow such competition, they will lose federal funding.
For some odd reason, both bills are set to expire in 2027.
“When you have kids being surgically and or chemically altered for life for no good reason, yes, it’s time for the government to get involved,” said Representative Brad Hudson, a Republican.
“One thing that is often alleged or insinuated is that we are hypocrites, because we are the party of small government, and yet we are advocating for government involvement in this area,” Hudson added. “Small government Republicans have never said that it is inappropriate for the government to get involved when it comes to protecting children.”
While the legislation passed by landslides in the state’s House and Senate, and with Republican Governor Mike Parson reportedly set to sign it into law, at least one Republican has threatened to leave the party over the legislation.
Representative Chris Sander, who is gay, claimed that the issue of transgenderism should not be partisan.
“It’s not a partisan thing to be gay or trans,” Sander, who represents a Kansas City suburb, said. “It has nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democrat. They want to make it about party politics by zipping my lips.”
Leftist politicians from the state’s two largest cities also chimed in with Democrats and Sander, protesting the passage of the legislation. In Kansas City, one city committee convened and called for a resolution making the city a “sanctuary” for children who receive such treatments.
The proposed resolution states that the city will not prosecute or fine anyone seeking puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or gender reassignment surgeries. It would also call for city personnel to make any enforcement of the new law their “lowest priority.”
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones called the passage of the legislation “ugly” and feared that it would drive transgender individuals out of the state.
“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,” Jones said in a statement.
Speaking for the county’s Department of Health, Jones said, “The Saint Louis County Department of Public Health stands with transgender members of our families, workplaces, and broader communities and affirms that transgender residents have the right to access clinically appropriate medical care. We denounce efforts to limit access to necessary health care services and interfere in clinical care decisions best left to individuals seeking care and their medical providers.”
And, of course, Missouri’s ACLU denounced the legislation, claiming it banned “life-saving” medical procedures.
“Gender-affirming care saves lives. The Jefferson City politicians’ intentional choice to abuse transgender Missourians will devastate trans people and their families,” the ACLU said in a statement.
“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 statement added. “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.”
While a lawsuit was not explicitly threatened, the ACLU definitely hinted that they were thinking about it.
“The ACLU of Missouri will continue to explore all options to fight these bans and to expand the rights of trans Missourians,” the statement concluded.
More than 20 states have passed bills severely restricting the transgender mutilation of children via so-called gender affirming care and the destruction of women’s sports over the past several months. The ACLU and their partners in Lambda Legal, an LGBT rights organization, have already promised several lawsuits challenging the new laws.
