Missouri attorney general issues rules to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender kids (possibly adults too?) (CW: transphobia, ableism)

Under the regulations, which a department spokeswoman said are still being finalized, health workers will need to:

•Disclose to patients that the use of puberty-blocker drugs or hormones to treat gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria is "experimental and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration." Inform patients that the FDA has warned that puberty blockers can lead to brain swelling and blindness.

•Ensure that patients have received full psychological or psychiatric assessments of at least 15 separate hourly sessions over at least 18 months, and that such conditions have been treated and resolved.

•Adopt and follow procedures to track for 15 years any adverse effects of gender transition for all patients.

The emergency rules also require providers to screen for autism before providing treatment.

In the discussion of this on Reddit, people are pointing out that while the AG's verbal comments talk about these regulations being about trans youth, nothing in the text of the regulations specify that they are only for trans youth. So while trans youth aren't safe in Missouri (there's already an anti-GAC for youth bill approved by the Senate and will almost certainly be signed by the hillbilly GOP governor), it's very possible that Missouri is no longer safe for trans adults, either.

Not to mention the insidious stuff about mental health, basically (here's the CW for ableism - sorry it appears the "spoiler" thing isn't working):

If you are diagnosed with autism, you could be denied treatment. If you are diagnosed with any mental illnesses, you could be denied treatment. If you don't have at least 15 counseling sessions in 18 months (so puberty might have already have really kicked in) you can be denied treatment.