Court Again Blocks Missouri Attorney General Attempt to Effectively Ban Gender-Affirming Care; Rules Immediate and Real Risk of Harm to Patients
For Immediate Release: May 1, 2023
Today, a Missouri court again blocked Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s unprecedented use of an emergency rule to prohibit gender-affirming care for people of all ages. The court in its ruling found there is an immediate and real risk of harm if the rule were to go into effect – both to patients needing care and providers who offer these critical services. This comes just days after the court ordered a temporary stay of the egregious regulations only hours before the rule would have prevented many Missourians from accessing life-saving care.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP) will proudly continue providing gender-affirming care to its Missouri patients.
While the rule remains blocked, should it be allowed to take effect later, it would create the strictest restrictions on gender-affirming care in the nation for people of all ages by putting into place numerous politically motivated barriers to care that are not in line with existing medical standards. Since the attorney general’s announcement, PPGP established a dedicated hotline for patients, extended hours and availability, and offered financial assistance to cover the cost of appointments to help Missourians.
Statement from Emily Wales, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Great Plains:
“This is another moment of relief for trans and non-binary Missourians who have had to worry that care they need and deserve would be unavailable because one appointed politician is determined to take away their rights. The court correctly identified the heart of the issue: patients and providers will face serious and immediate harm if the rule takes effect. The fear and confusion so many of our patients have felt has been heartbreaking and the direct result of an attorney general without medical expertise or input from medical experts trying to dictate how other people should live as their authentic selves. While the fight continues, we’re grateful the judge saw through Andrew Bailey’s attempt at extreme government overreach into personal health care decisions.”
The judge will hold a hearing on May 11, to rule on the request for a permanent injunction and should it be granted, the extreme regulations would be barred from becoming law in Missouri.
PPGP operates four health centers in Missouri, with three in the Kansas City area and one in Columbia. Additionally, PPGP has two health centers on the Kansas side of the border – Overland Park and Kansas City, Kansas.