Missouri Judge Upholds Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Minors

The ruling supports a 2023 law restricting medical treatments for transgender youth, despite opposition from major medical organizations and advocacy groups.

Missouri's Senate Bill 49 prohibits gender-affirming surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapies for minors, with exceptions for those already in treatment before August 2023.
The law also bans the use of state Medicaid funds for gender-affirming care for adults and restricts surgeries for incarcerated individuals.
Judge R. Craig Carter upheld the law, citing what he described as a lack of consensus in medical science, though major medical organizations support such care as safe and effective.
Advocacy groups, including Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri, plan to appeal the decision, arguing the law violates constitutional protections and causes harm to transgender youth.
This ruling marks Missouri as the first state to successfully defend such a law in trial court, with similar legal battles ongoing in other states and a related case heading to the U.S. Supreme Court.