Gender Affirming Care

The case before the Missouri Supreme Court comes after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar law in Tennessee that bars transgender minors from getting gender-affirming care.

GOP lawmakers placed a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would repeal Amendment 3, the abortion rights measure that Missouri voters approved last year. Except the new ballot summary didn't mention that it would ban abortion — so a Cole County judge ruled that it must be rewritten.

An appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Missouri Attorney General's Office may receive protected health information in its investigation of adolescent gender-affirming care, though it rejected the attorney general's claims of broad investigative authority.

The departing GOP official made a major splash in his short time as Missouri attorney general.

The policy from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appears to target any reference to transgender or nonbinary people. The agency threatened to withhold federal funding for preventing teen pregnancy.

Shawnee Mission, Olathe, Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas, public school districts allegedly allowed students to participate in sports and use restrooms that align with their gender identity. The districts also permitted teachers to maintain confidentiality with transgender students.

Missouri has banned medical gender-affirming health care for youth and some adults since 2023. But there are plenty of other forms of gender-affirming care happening in the state, and advocates say it’s saving lives. Plus: Missouri’s Medicaid program is about to go through a major change with the advent of federally imposed work requirements.

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.