Court Upholds Missouri Law Protecting Children from ‘Transgender’ Medical Interventions

A Missouri court has upheld a state law protecting children from harmful and damaging transgender medical interventions.

On June 7, 2023, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” (SAFE Act) into law.

The measure states:

Under this act, no health care provider shall perform gender transition surgeries on any minor. Until August 28, 2027, no health care provider shall prescribe or administer cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to a minor for a gender transition, unless such minor was receiving such treatment prior to August 28, 2023.

Shortly after the law was enacted, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Missouri, and law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court to stop the law’s implementation.

In a 74-page opinion issued on Nov 25., Judge R. Craig Carter upheld Missouri’s SAFE Act as constitutional. He did so after a two-week trial, finding that legislatures have broad authority to regulate medical procedures.

He pointed out that according to the Plaintiff’s arguments against the SAFE Act, “Any person – including a minor – would be able to do anything from meth, to ecstasy, to abortion as long as a single medical professional was willing to recommend it.”

The judge also took the opportunity to blast transgender medical procedures being performed on young children. Judge Carter wrote,

This Court finds an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment. The evidence at trial showed severe disagreement as to whether adolescent gender dysphoria and surgical treatment was ethical at all.

Judge Carter pointed out that evidence shows a vast majority of minors who experience gender dysphoria outgrow the condition as they reach adulthood.

The gender treatment prohibited by Missouri uses drugs and surgeries to either inhibit normal healthy human growth or surgically remove and replace healthy human organs. Such an approach to treatment is well outside normal medicine.

He continued,

The credible evidence shows that a vast majority of children who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria outgrow the condition. … The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual holds that around 98% of these children do not remain gender incongruent. Essentially, it seems that all of this untested, non-emergency, possibly unethical, possibly unnecessary care would be performed on children and adolescents when the vast majority of minors would simply outgrow the condition by the time they reach adulthood.

After examining relevant Supreme Court and appellate court precedent, the judge concluded, “Accordingly, this Court finds that Missouri SB 49 is constitutional.”

Missouri Attorney General Bailey issued a statement following the ruling: “The Court has left Missouri’s law banning child mutilation in place, a resounding victory for our children. We are the first state in the nation to successfully defend such a law at the trial court level.” He added,

I’m extremely proud of the thousands of hours my office put in to shine a light on the lack of evidence supporting these irreversible procedures. We will never stop fighting to ensure Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children.

Likewise, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Hal Frampton lauded the judge’s ruling in a statement,

Missouri rightly enacted a law that protects the health and welfare of all children – supporting their natural biological development and ensuring that children experiencing gender dysphoria have support and medical care rooted in biology and science. … We commend Attorney General Bailey for defending his state’s law that allows children to receive the help they need – safely.

All children have the right to their bodily integrity and an intact sexual identity. Children struggling with sexual identity confusion deserve true compassion and real support including prayer, counseling and community – not harmful drugs, hormones and surgeries.

We commend Missouri – and Judge Carter – for upholding and protecting the rights of children.

The case is Noe v. Parson.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

If you or someone you know need help dealing with the transgender issue, check out Focus on the Family’s Transgender Resources page here.

Focus on the Family also offers a one-time complimentary consultation with our ministry’s professionally trained counseling staff. The consultation is free due to generous donor support. To reach Focus on the Family’s counseling service by phone, call 1-800-A-Family (232-6459) weekdays 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). Please be prepared to leave your contact information for a counselor or chaplain to return a call to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.

We also offer local referrals for licensed counselors who align with the mission and values of Focus on the Family.

Related articles and resources:

Counseling Consultation & Referrals

Understanding Homosexuality

Transgender Resources

What Is ‘Conversion Therapy’?

Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion

The Journey Back to My True Identity

What is ‘Gender Identity’

Court Upholds Ban on ‘Transgender’ Interventions for Minors in Missouri

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