Videos: Some testimony before the House committee about bills to criminalize transgender health care
The Missouri House committee on general laws held a marathon meeting on several LGBTQ-related bills on Jan. 24, 2023. The discussion included bills about drag queen shows and transgender participation in sports. Three bills to criminalize medical care for transgender children were also discussed, House bills , and .
Many people testified, more in opposition of the bills than in support. The testimony included, LGBTQ adults, transgender teenagers the parents of transgender children. The full hearing lasted for more than eight hours and can be viewed .
Read more about the hearing: Missouri GOP bills targeting transgender people and drag shows draw fire
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Bill would keep teachers from ‘convincing children’ they are transgender or gay, senator says
‘If I were your kid, I would not be comfortable coming out to you,’ senator tells colleague
Missouri senator says doctors treating transgender children are evil
Beth O'Malley
Digital presentation editor
Whistleblower Jamie Reed, who worked at the transgender center between 2018 and 2022, said staff too freely prescribed medications and did not properly explain the side effects. “I was struck by the lack of protocols and treatment,†she wrote.
Missouri Republican lawmakers have filed more than two dozen bills directed at the LGBTQ community, including some that target gender transition therapy.
‘I want to see the kids protected,’ she says.Â
The bill was expanded to bar gender-affirming care for Missouri prison inmates.
“This is incredibly ideologically-oriented,†said Rabbi Daniel Bogard who has a transgender son. “Her attorneys are involved nationally in targeting trans kids and their parents and trying to deny their existence.â€Â
“It’s not as if these are initiatives kind of organically happening in different states.â€
The vote, less than a week after a hearing on the issue, shows the urgency Republicans have placed on gender-related health care.
Dozens of transgender people, parents of trans kids and clinicians spoke in favor of the resolution.
Accounts from almost two dozen parents contradict examples provided by former case manager at transgender center.
So far this year, at least 150 bills targeting trans people have been introduced, which is the highest in a single year.
The critical report was released by the Clark-Fox Policy Institute and appeared on the institute’s website and in an email newsletter to subscribers.
The Senate also signed off on legislation limiting transgender participation in sports.
The issue was made a top priority by Republican-led legislatures this year. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is also trying to impose regulations that would severely restrict gender-affirming medications for all ages.