Judge hears arguments in lawsuit challenging Missouris ban on gender-affirming care [Video]

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) – A lawsuit challenging Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is before a Cole County judge on Wednesday, completing its third of a 10-day trial.

The suit was filed by a coalition of transgender teens, loved ones, and healthcare providers whose attorneys argued an absence of any fact-based reason for the state to restrict medical procedures that have the support of the mainstream medical community.

“This is about ensuring equal access to health care, equal protection of the law under the Missouri Constitution, and protecting the rights of parents to be able to make these decisions with their adolescent children and their medical providers,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Attorney for those challenging GAC ban.

The lawsuit seeks to block the Attorney General from enforcing the state’s ban.

The Attorney General’s office argued that gender-affirming care is experimental at best and damaging at worst.

Expert witnesses for …