Missouri Supreme Court upholds ban on gender-affirming care for minors
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -
The Supreme Court of Missouri upheld a state law banning minors from receiving gender-affirming.
The high court sided with a Cole County judge's decision to uphold the law that bans children from procedures like sex change surgeries or prescribing hormone therapy to help with gender transitions. The law went into effect in August 2023.
Those challenging the law had claimed a violation of equal protection and due process.
The Missouri Supreme Court referred to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a similar Tennessee law last year.
The court struck down the argument that the state's SAFE Act discriminated based on protected classes, transgender status and sex, by ruling that the act only classifies by age and medical use, accoridng to the opinion.
The court also ruled the act does not violate parents' rights to make decisions about their children's health care.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway celebrated the decision.
"By upholding the SAFE Act, the Missouri Supreme Court confirmed the legislature's authority to safeguard the health and well-being of our state's most vulnerable citizens," Hanaway wrote in a statement.
The ACLU of Missouri, which fought against the law in court, called the decision "a harmful ban that singles out transgender Missourians."
University of Missouri Health Care stopped providing gender-affirming care in August 2023.
