Another Missouri bill prevents boys from playing girls sports
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article includes reporting from the Concerned Women for America communications team and from Pathway staff.
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill, June 8, preventing minors in Missouri from accessing puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries that can alter their bodies irreparably.
The bill (SB 49) was passed in the wake of St. Louis Children’s Hospital becoming a focus of national attention when a former caseworker at its Washington University Transgender Center, Jamie Reed, went public with practices she described as “morally and medically appalling.”
But beginning Aug. 28, Missouri healthcare providers won’t be able to prescribe these harmful treatments for teens and children.
In a June 8 Facebook post, Parson wrote, “SB 49 establishes the Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. The SAFE Act prohibits health care providers from performing gender transition surgeries or prescribing hormones or drugs for the purposes of gender transition to Missouri children under the age of 18.
“We support everyone’s right to his or her own pursuit of happiness; however, we must protect children from making life-altering decisions that they could come to regret in adulthood once they have physically and emotionally matured. We thank Senator Mike Moon for working to pass SB 49 to protect Missouri children from harmful, irreversible treatments and procedures. These decisions have permanent consequences for life and should not be made by impressionable children who may be in crisis or influenced by the political persuasions of others.
“The SAFE Act also bars MO HealthNet, Missouri’s Medicaid program, from providing payment for gender transition surgeries, cross-sex hormones, or puberty-blocking drugs for the purpose of gender transition. Additionally, health care services provided to incarcerated individuals in Missouri prisons, jails, and correction centers will not include elective gender transition surgeries.
“The above provisions ensure Missouri taxpayer dollars are not spent on elective gender transition procedures.”
The enactment of this bill comes less than a year after Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) messengers urged public officials to recognize God’s gift of two genders, male and female, as declared by Scripture.
In a resolution last fall, MBC messengers also opposed “the use of puberty blockers for children experiencing childhood gender nonconformity.” They also called “on medical and mental health professionals to adhere to the best practices in the standards of informed consent” and opposed “the use of tax revenue to fund puberty blockers.”
Gov. Parson on June 8 also signed legislation (SB 39) that would ban biological men from playing on female sports teams from kindergarten through college.
On Facebook, June 8, Parson wrote, “SB 39 prohibits educational institutions from allowing biological male students from participating on sports teams designated for biological females. This law applies to elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education institutions, including private schools, public school districts, public charter schools, public colleges and universities, and private colleges and universities.
“We appreciate Senator Holly Rehder for leading on this issue and fighting for women and girls across the state. We, along with the vast majority of the General Assembly, agree that women and girls deserve fair sports competition without intrusion from biological men. Women and girls deserve and have fought for an equal opportunity to succeed, and with this legislation today, we stand up to the nonsense and stand with them as they take back their sport competitions. In Missouri, we support real fairness, not injustice disguised as social righteousness.”
Missouri is the 20th state to adopt policies that will prevent harmful surgeries and experimental drugs from being administered to vulnerable children expressing a desire to transition to the opposite sex.
The Show Me state becomes the 22nd state to enact laws protecting women’s sports for female athletes.
Parson is a member of First Baptist Church, Bolivar.