Judge Ellen Ribaudo of the 21st Judicial Circuit issued a ruling to temporarily stay the implementation of Missouri Attorney General’s extreme and unprecedented restrictions on gender affirming care for trans people of all ages until Monday. The stay was issued to permit the court time to more fully consider the parties’ argument and the court indicated it anticipates having a ruling on plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order by Monday, May 1.
Lambda Legal, The ACLU of Missouri and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP filed a petition seeking a temporary restraining order against the Attorney General shortly after he filed an emergency rule on April 13th that imposed severe restrictions on all trans people seeking gender affirming care that would have gone into effect tomorrow April 27, but for the stay ordered today. The lawsuit, Southampton Community Healthcare v. Bailey, was filed on behalf of Southampton Community Healthcare, Kelly Storck, Logan Casey, and the families of two young transgender adolescents.
In response to the ruling, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri issued the following statement:
“We are grateful for the court’s decision to issue a temporary stay of the implementation of the Attorney General’s so-called ‘emergency rule,’ as it more fully considers our request for a temporary restraining order. No less than the health and well-being of thousands of transgender Missourians is at stake.”
“Gender-affirming care is supported by overwhelming scientific data, decades of clinical experience, and the medical consensus of major medical organizations in the United States. The decision on whether or not to allow the implementation of this rule, which ignores the proven sciences and experience of health care providers, will have an immediate impact on Missourians of all ages and their access to lifesaving medical care. In addition, we believe the twisting of Missouri’s consumer protection law to allow one politician to control and limit health care that has been around for decades puts all Missourians who receive any type of medical treatment in jeopardy, should that treatment become a political issue.”
“While we welcome this temporary relief, we look forward to the judge ultimately preventing this rule from going into effect.”
Read order.