After Senate Bill 49 took effect on Monday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey directed a letter to providers across the state, warning them to immediately cease experimental treatment on minors. Recipients of the letter include Washington University (St. Louis), Southampton Healthcare (St. Louis), Children’s Mercy (Kansas City), Planned Parenthood Great Plains, Planned Parenthood St. Louis, and AIDS Project of the Ozarks (Springfield).
Attorney General Bailey began the letter, “I write to inform you that as of 12:00 am this morning, § 191.1720, RSMo (the ‘SAFE Act’) is the law of the land. Under the terms of the SAFE Act, you must immediately cease and desist from performing gender transition surgeries on minors. Further, although under the SAFE Act, you may continue providing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to patients already receiving them before August 28, you are barred from administering such experimental ‘treatments’ to any new patients.”
He continued, “I remind you, too, of the SAFE Act’s enforcement provisions. Any health care provider or entity who knowingly violates the SAFE Act is engaging in professional misconduct as a matter of law and ‘shall have his or her license to practice revoked.’ § 191.1720.5 RSMo. Further, the SAFE Act creates an individual cause of action for victims who are harmed by individuals or entities providing ‘treatments’ barred by the Act, including the prescribing or administering of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.”
He concluded, “The people of Missouri have spoken decisively on this issue through their elected representatives, and the courts, after a full evidentiary hearing, have declined to enjoin the law. The time for experimenting on Missouri’s children is over.”
This letter comes after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office was the first in the nation to successfully defend at the trial court level a state law barring child mutilation. The court handed down its decision last Friday, declining to enjoin the law after a three-day hearing.
The full letter can be read here.
