In an interview last week with Tony Perkins, leader of the anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council (FRC), Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he based his new emergency administrative regulation limiting access to gender-affirming healthcare on disputed accounts of a supposed whistleblower at a Missouri hospital.
The AG’s regulation, which was announced March 20, “side-stepped” the state legislature, which had refused to pass model legislation known as the SAFE Act. Drafted by FRC, the SAFE Act seeks to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Bailey’s order came on the same day the extremist group Gays Against Groomers held a rally, promoted by FRC, at the state Capitol to pressure the Senate to end a filibuster blocking the ban.
In the interview, which was posted on FRC’s “Washington Watch” YouTube show the day after Bailey announced his new regulations, the Missouri attorney general claimed “at least one” Missouri clinic “is performing transgender procedures on minors without proper informed consent,” citing a hotly disputed report by a former case worker at a Missouri Children’s Hospital. Bailey seemingly admitted to uncertainty about the full accuracy of the whistleblower's claim, telling Perkins: “These are scary allegations. And if even 10% of these allegations are true, this is nothing short of child abuse.” This, he argued, justified his emergency order restricting access to care. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health noted the...
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