JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Tuesday withdrew his emergency rules restricting transgender health care.
The rules, which would have made Missouri the first state to greatly restrict care for transgender adults, were terminated effective Tuesday, according to the secretary of state’s website.
Bailey’s action Tuesday effectively ends a court fight in St. Louis County over the rules, which also affected minors. The judge in that case had temporarily blocked enforcement of the restrictions until July.
Bailey, a Republican, announced his rules in March and filed them with the secretary of state in April. They included a new therapy requirement that created an 18-month waiting period for care.
His action Tuesday also followed the Missouri Legislature’s passage last week of restrictions on transgender health care for minors. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, is expected to sign that legislation.
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After the initial court loss and action by lawmakers, Bailey’s decision was not unexpected. He hinted last week that he could drop the effort.
“We were standing in the gap unless and until the General Assembly decided to take action on this issue,” Bailey said in a statement Tuesday.
His action Tuesday came on a day when the news cycle was focused on his attempts to drive St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner from office.
There was no formal announcement from his office that he dropped the controversial rule as he prepares for a 2024 run for a full term as attorney general.
Bailey had initially only mentioned regulations for minors when announcing the rules this spring.
His spokeswoman acknowledged after the rules were filed that the limits would affect everyone. Puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries would’ve all been restricted under the new rules.
“We believe everyone is entitled to evidence-based medicine and adequate mental health care,” Madeline Sieren, spokeswoman for Bailey, said at the time.
When the rules were announced, Planned Parenthood, which provides hormone replacement therapy to patients 16 or older, said Bailey’s rules were an attempt “to effectively ban gender-affirming care in Missouri.”
Bailey’s fellow Republicans didn’t rush to his defense after he was criticized for his unprecedented action.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican running for governor in 2024, predicted the rules would never actually take effect.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican who is running for governor, declined to comment on Bailey’s rules.
And Parson, who appointed Bailey to the job, said he disagreed with limits on health care for adults.
Bailey based the authority for the regulation on the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, a consumer protection law the attorney general enforces.
In response to Tuesday’s news, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said Missourians don’t deserve an attorney general “who persecutes innocent Missourians for political gain.”
“Andrew Bailey grossly overstepped his legal authority, and everyone knows it,” she said in a statement. “So it isn’t surprising he withdrew his unconstitutional rule knowing another embarrassing court defeat was inevitable.”
The Missouri House passed a bill that will restrict medical care available for transgender children on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. House Democrats denounced the proposal while Republicans spoke in support of it. Video edited by Beth O'Malley
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