Lawsuit Filed to Stop Missouri’s New Gender-Affirming Care Ban

Advocates for gender-affirming care and transgender youth are trying to fight back against the state’s new law banning medication and surgery.

SB 49 was signed into law by Governor Mike Parson on June 7, which bans transition surgery or gender-affirming medication for people under 18, and also removes transgender medical care from the purview of Medicare and Medicaid.

The lawsuit was filed by three Missouri families, numerous medical providers, and several LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, which alleges that the law strips away the power of parents to make medical decisions for there own children.

State Senator Mike Moon, who represents Ash Grove and portions of Christian, McDonald, Barry and Lawrence County, sponsored the bill.

Moon says there has been no evidence to prove that the surgeries performed and medications provided are safe for children.

One of the primary purposes of the lawsuit is to put medical decisions back in the hands of children and their parents.