Transgender adults brace for treatment cutoffs in Missouri

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press

An emergency rule introduced this week by Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey will impose numerous restrictions on both adults and children before they can receive puberty-blocking drugs, hormones or gender-affirming surgeries. Transgender rights advocates have vowed to challenge the rule in court before it takes effect April 27. But promises of swift legal action have done little to ease the worries of some trans Missourians who could see their care cut off because they have depression or another mental health diagnosis. National groups advocating for LGBTQ+ rights contend the Missouri regulation goes further than most restrictions enacted elsewhere.