After a Missouri medical clinic refused to voluntarily stop the gender-transitioning of minors, the state’s attorney general announced an “emergency regulation” adding safeguards to the practice temporarily.
At the same time, state lawmakers are advancing a law intended to permanently ban these surgical and hormonal interventions for youths.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey says existing state law covers “unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practices,” and he considers the transgender procedures to fall into that category unless patients are duly warned about the consequences.
Bailey’s proposed regulation clarifies that providers of these procedures must comply with specific “guardrails,” including informed-consent disclosures that warn patients about the “experimental” nature of hormone treatments that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Epicenter of US Debate
Missouri has taken center stage in the national controversy because Bailey and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) launched investigations into alleged unethical and illegal practices at a St. Louis transgender clinic.Earlier this year, ex-clinic worker Jamie Reed went public with accusations, touching off a firestorm. She is believed to be the nation’s first such whistleblower.
On March 21, about two months after Bailey’s probe began, a spokeswoman told The Epoch Times via email that the investigation was continuing; she gave no further information.
Nationwide, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been a staunch opponent of attempts to restrict or regulate the procedures.
The ACLU’s Missouri chapter denounced Bailey’s proposed regulation as a “dangerous and reckless” restriction on “life-saving health care.”
The group argues that gender-distressed youths may kill themselves if they cannot fulfill their desire to medically alter their appearance to match their perceived gender identity.
However, opponents of the procedures say there’s no proof that gender transitioning saves lives.
Bailey says he is trying to “protect children and enforce the laws as written.”
The new rule he cited would take effect after it is entered in the Missouri Register, and would last for “30 legislative days or 180 days, whichever is longer,” Bailey said.
“Even Europe recognizes that mutilating children for the sake of a woke, leftist agenda has irreversible consequences, and countries like Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom have all sharply curtailed these procedures,” Bailey wrote.
Clinic Defends Actions
Julie Hail Flory, responding on behalf of The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said the organization is aware of Bailey’s announcement and “will review any proposed regulations when they are filed.”“We take the care and safety of our patients very seriously,” she told The Epoch Times in an email.
“Our focus remains on our commitment to providing compassionate, family-centered care to all of the patients and families we serve.”
Reed alleged that children with serious mental issues were inappropriately treated with various drugs, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
State agencies are investigating whether medical professionals at the center should face disciplinary action on their professional licenses and whether there were billing irregularities, as Reed has claimed.
Undaunted by Antifa
Meanwhile, Missouri is among about two dozen states where lawmakers have proposed or approved banning the procedures for minors.Despite a Democrat-led filibuster that persisted for about 13 hours, attempting to block the Missouri legislation, a Republican-backed measure passed the state Senate on March 21.
It now heads to the state House of Representatives.
Legislators in states such as Missouri say they are standing up for parents and youths who are being misled about the potential for lifelong emotional, social, and physical problems that gender transitioning can cause.
But transgender activists have attacked regulatory efforts as “transphobic” government intrusions into the doctor-patient relationship.
Newgent has boosted legislative efforts in more than a dozen states, including Missouri.
Newgent spoke at a rally in Jefferson City, Missouri, on March 20; on March 21, Newgent was slated to testify in Indianapolis to support a proposed Indiana law that would halt medical gender-transitioning of minors.
In between, Newgent spoke to The Epoch Times.
A group clad in black outfits and facial coverings, believed to be associated with Antifa or a similar antifascist group, showed up in Missouri, Newgent said.
However, a broad coalition of gays, transgender people, and Christians stood strong despite the apparent effort to intimidate the group into silence, Newgent said.
A supporter wrote a message to Newgent: “Thank you for your [incredible] bravery, even while staring Antifa in the face.”
Newgent, who has crusaded against the procedures for nearly five years, has said the U.S. public used to be very unaware of the issues related to the gender transitioning of minors.
More Americans are informed about the serious consequences of gender-transitioning children, including mental, physical, and emotional damage, Newgent said.
Activists such as Newgent say they have received death threats and threats of violence for opposing medical treatments of children. Newgent reports being shoved in California and spat upon in Nebraska, but remains undaunted.
Despite Newgent’s status as a transgender person and lesbian, Newgent describes being accused of harboring “internalized transphobia.”
Before undergoing masculinizing surgery, Newgent bore three children. Now Newgent is focused on protecting those children—and those of other people—from succumbing to marketing ploys and social trends, and suffering the life-altering effects.
Newgent has told news reporters, “shame on you,” for refusing to reveal the harms that can be done. Newgent also has used that phrase against lawmakers opposing transgender-treatment bans.
But on March 21, the tables were turned. Young people who have been led to believe that the procedures are beneficial were chanting “shame on you” to adults considering banning them.
Newgent recorded the youths’ words echoing in the Indianapolis Statehouse.
