Missouri law banning minors from beginning gender-affirming treatments takes effect
By SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Two new laws restricting transgender Missourians’ access to gender-affirming health care and school sports are now in effect. Both laws took effect Monday and expire in 2027. One law bans minors from beginning puberty blocks and hormones and outlaws gender-affirming surgeries for youths. The other law requires student athletes from kindergarten through college to play on sports teams that align with their sex as assigned at birth. LGBTQ+ advocates who sued to overturn the health care law were dealt a blow last week, when a judge allowed the law to take effect throughout the court challenge.