Missouri Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, has announced plans to limit access to sex change operations for minors. According to the Associated Press, the proposed emergency rule will require an 18-month waiting period, 15-hour-long therapy sessions, and treatment of any mental illnesses before Missouri doctors can operate on “transgender children.”
Bailey claims the new rule is aimed at helping children who might regret transitioning. The rule also requires disclosing information about puberty blockers, including that they are experimental, not approved by the FDA, and can lead to brain swelling and blindness.
The announcement comes as hundreds of activists rallied at the Capitol to pressure lawmakers to act on the bill, with some calling it an abuse of power. Recently Florida and Texas implemented similar policies. Florida has banned children from receiving hormones or undergoing surgeries to treat gender dysphoria. Texas issued an order instructing child welfare officials to investigate reports of gender transitions for kids as abuse.
Supporters of the new regulation believe it protects children from being subject to inhumane science experiments. The issue has threatened to derail the Senate, with several Republican senators speaking against another Republican lawmaker’s attempt to combine the bill with a ban on transgender girls competing on school girls’ sports teams.
