Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, has filed a lawsuit against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey over his “burdensome” requests for records on gender-affirming care. The hospital’s attorneys have asked a judge to deny Bailey’s 54 investigative demands for records and testimony, despite the hospital facing no allegations of wrongdoing.
Bailey has demanded that the hospital provide records on any prescriptions for hormone blockers and surgeries for transgender patients, as well as information on when the hospital has reported child abuse. Bailey’s spokeswoman, Madeline Sieren, has questioned the hospital’s contention that its gender transition practices are evidence-based, and the facility is refusing to provide “even a single document” to explain its practices.
Children’s Mercy argues that releasing the information sought by Bailey would violate state and federal laws, including those involving private medical decisions made between patients and doctors. The hospital also contends that Bailey doesn’t have the jurisdiction to investigate health care companies and physicians, which are regulated by the Missouri Board of Healing Arts. The lawsuit also argues that many of Bailey’s requests are “poorly disguised interrogatories” that have nothing to do with gender-affirming care.
Republican lawmakers across the country, including Missouri, have proposed hundreds of laws aimed at transgender people, with a particular emphasis on health care. At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors. Bailey has introduced an emergency rule that will impose several restrictions before adults and children can receive drugs, hormones, or surgeries “for the purpose of transitioning gender.”
The demand letter sent to Children’s Mercy “far exceeds those limits,” the lawsuit said. The facility also contends that hospitals are not regulated under that law and said the hospital “cannot in good faith attempt to comply.” Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri sued over Bailey’s document demands to that organization as part of its investigation. Planned Parenthood also argued in its lawsuit that Bailey has no authority to investigate its clinic, which is inspected by the state health department.
The legal action by Children’s Mercy Hospital is part of a broader debate in the US over the rights of transgender people, particularly with respect to access to healthcare. Bailey’s investigation and proposed restrictions on gender-affirming care have sparked concerns among LGBT rights advocates, who fear that such efforts could stigmatize and harm vulnerable communities. Children’s Mercy’s lawsuit is an attempt to push back against these efforts and protect the privacy and rights of patients seeking gender-affirming care.