Missouri's Transgender Health Care Restrictions Spark Fear and Protest.

Missouri is set to become the first state to implement sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for adults, which has left transgender people and doctors in the state warning that discarding years of established health care practices will put patients' lives at risk. The restrictions apply to people of all ages, which surprised health providers and patients because the move was framed as a tool to “protect children.” The new emergency rules mandate that trans people demonstrate multiple years of medical and mental health care history, including experiencing gender dysphoria for three consecutive years. A coalition of civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal, filed a legal challenge against the emergency rules.