One family drops from MU Health Care lawsuit involving gender-affirming care; Choi, Barohn named as defendants
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
One family is dropping out of a federal lawsuit filed against MU Health Care in a case surrounding gender-affirming care.
MU Health Care said in August that it would stop prescribing or administering puberty-delaying drugs or hormone replacement therapy to transgender minors. A pair of Boone County families sued MU Health in November, claiming MU Health was violating the Affordable Care Act.
This came after Gov. Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 49 into law, which bans access to gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers and hormones to children, who are younger than 18 years old. The bill also prohibits Missouri’s Medicaid program, MO HealthNet, from providing payment for gender transition surgery and puberty blockers.
The lawsuit was filed in November by two families of transgender boys, ages 17 and 10.
An amended complaint from the remaining plaintiff names MU’s curators, UM System President Mun Choi and Richard Barohn, who is the dean of the MU School of Medicine and executive vice chancellor of health affairs for MU. The lawsuit states, “Choi and Barohn are sued in their official capacities solely for prospective injunctive relief under Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908),” which addresses sovereign immunity.
