Gender Affirming Care

Missouri has banned medical gender-affirming care for youth and some adults since 2023. But other forms of gender-affirming care is happening in the state — including haircuts, facial waxing and photography — and advocates say it's saving lives.

Next year, transgender teens in Kansas will no longer be able to access puberty blockers and hormone treatments for gender-affirming care. One family in Wichita is worried about navigating the changes. Plus, aircraft manufacturing is a big part of the Kansas economy, but new tariffs by the Trump administration have some companies scrambling.

Republican lawmakers put a measure on the 2026 ballot that would not just cement an abortion ban in the Missouri Constitution, but would also prevent transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming health care.

The Kansas City Council passed a resolution in 2023 that declared the city a transgender “safe haven,” in response to Missouri and Kansas restricting gender-affirming care. But one community leader says the city hasn’t followed through on that promise with material action.

Kansas legislators passed a law this year that bans gender-affirming treatments for young transgender people. Plaintiffs say it violates fundamental rights in the state constitution.

It's the first time in more than 70 years that the House has adjourned early. The session had been scheduled to end on Friday.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been seeking medical records on gender-affirming health care for minors from providers across Missouri. An appeals court said Planned Parenthood must produce "de-identified" medical records or otherwise cite exemptions.

Charles McKinzie is a small-town pastor and lifelong Republican. Unlike many of his religious peers, he's also a vocal critic of new laws restricting gender-affirming care for Kansas minors. Plus: a look at organic and naturally grown food labels.

Republican state Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit, said birth certificates reflect “facts on the day you were born." His bill is inspired by a case where a transgender student sued the Blue Springs School District after being barred from locker rooms and bathrooms.

More than a month into its session, the Kansas legislature has passed a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth and been unable to reach an agreement on tax reform. We'll have a mid-session update on what’s happening in Topeka.

Kansas City’s transgender community is sandwiched between two states where Republican-controlled legislatures have made limiting transgender health care and other rights a top priority. Families say the restrictions put their safety at risk.

Unlike in past years, Republicans currently have enough votes to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto and ban gender-affirming health care for minors. But Democrats and the ACLU says it violates Kansans' constitutional rights.