A St. Louis judge has entered a stay delaying the effective date of Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule that limits gender-affirming healthcare for adolescents and adults.
“The Court has heard arguments on the Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order on April 26, 2023, but has not had the opportunity to review the briefing sufficiently to fully rule on the Motion,” wrote Judge Ellen Ribaudo in her April 26 order. “The Attorney General graciously invited the Court to enter a short stay of the enforcement of the Order so the Court may review the briefing.”
The rule would have become effective this week on April 27 if Judge Ribaudo of the 21st Judicial Circuit had not issued the temporary stay. But the stay expires on May 1.
“The rule is not in effect yet so there is not a change in the status quo and the ability to provide care in Missouri as of today,” said Kara Ingelhart, Lambda Legal senior attorney.
Lambda Legal, Southampton Community Healthcare, and the American Civil Liberties Union sued Bailey on April 24 in St. Louis County Court after he issued the April 13 directive clarifying that state law already prohibits performing experimental procedures, such as gender transition interventions, and will expire in February 2024.
Ribaudo is expected to rule on Lambda Legal’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) next week on May 1.
“There are other procedural avenues available, like a preliminary injunction to stop it from going into effect, and even if the TRO is granted more fully on Monday, we will also continue towards a preliminary injunction posture where there will be more litigation in the court,” Ingelhart told the St. Louis Record. “This fight is far from over, but we feel very pleased that there is temporary relief at least until Monday.”
Lambda Legal is a national legal group that represents LGBTQ persons.
“We're going to fight every step of the way to keep this from ever going into effect,” Ingelhart said in an interview. “We’re going to keep fighting through the courts alongside our trans clients and the trans communities to keep that from happening. It would just be such a drastic change to threaten people's healthcare in this way without any public engagement.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, under the regulation, individuals would have to undergo a gender-dysphoria diagnosis for three years before beginning care. Another provision demands 18 months of counseling before accessing care and requires informed written consent, screening for social media addiction, screening for autism, and assurance that the patient is not experiencing social gender identity contagion.
“No trans people were consulted,” Ingelhart added. “Healthcare professionals were not consulted in developing this rule. It is based on misleading statements, debunked published material and it relies on misleading information to reach perfunctory conclusions that are political and are not about maintaining the health and wellness of Missourians.”