Missouri AG restricts gender-affirming care for minors.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced an emergency regulation to limit access to gender-related care for minors, requiring an 18-month waiting period, 15 hourlong therapy sessions, and treatment of any mental illnesses before Missouri doctors can provide that kind of care to transgender children. The move appeared to sidestep the Republican-led Legislature, which has debated, but not passed, legislation to restrict transgender health care for minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries. The rules, which are likely to face a court challenge, were met with derision from a statewide group advocating for LGBTQ people and from parents of children receiving care at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.