Missouri bill would revoke medical license of doctors who prescribe gender-affirming hormones for

Missouri bill would revoke medical license of doctors who prescribe gender-affirming hormones for children


Every weekday, pediatricians see patients at Gender Pathway Services of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and the Transgender Center of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. For the young patients, an appointment can mark a turning point in their lives.

Transgender children visit the clinics at the onset of puberty to receive puberty blockers. These reversible medications, also prescribed to young cisgender children who begin puberty before their peers, postpone the onset of sexual maturation as long as patients take them.

For some children, this pause allows more time to decide whether they want to pursue medical gender transition. And it gives their parents time to become more comfortable with their child’s gender. Once a family is ready, a team of pediatricians moves forward with hormone replacement therapy for teenagers.

But this therapy — the prescription of hormones like testosterone and estrogen to transgender people in order to develop secondary sex characteristics like facial hair or breasts — is under threat in the Missouri legislature.

Read more: https://thebeacon.media/stories/2022/02/04/transgender-youth-hormones/