transgender athletes

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Tuesday that states can ban transgender athletes from participating in sports. That secures the status of a law in Kansas banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who has long coached his daughters' and other girls' basketball teams at school, wrote the court's majority opinion. Missouri and Kansas both have laws restricting transgender students from playing on girls' and women's sports teams.

The legislature also failed to pass bills that would restrict transgender rights, regulate artificial intelligence and the opioid-like drug 7-OH and eliminate vehicle safety inspections.

The Trump administration says Olathe, Shawnee Mission, Kansas City, Kansas, and Topeka school districts violated Title IX and risk losing federal funding. At issue are their policies around transgender students’ bathroom use and sports participation, and notifying parents about students using different pronouns or names in class.

Mayday Health plans to reach 1.2 million people over the course of four weeks with three billboards in the Kansas City area, three in Topeka and one in Wichita.

Missouri currently bans trans athletes through the collegiate level from playing on teams that align with their gender identity, but the law expires in 2027. Republicans want to make it permanent, but Democrats argue it could invite scrutiny of young girls' bodies.

A new Kansas law, passed by Republican lawmakers over the governor's veto, requires that people using private facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms must use the facility that matches their biological sex at birth. Texas recently implemented a similar law, but vague guidelines for investigating complaints are sparking frustration.

Following hours of testimony last week, a Missouri House committee on approved bills that would cement the state's restrictions on transgender athletes and health care for transgender minors.

Gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors and participating on sports teams that align with trans athletes' gender identity are currently prohibited in Missouri. Those bans are set to expire in 2027, unless the state legislature opts to extend them indefinitely.

Studies are showing that Missouri's laws targeting gay and transgender people have already pushed LGBTQ+ residents to move — taking their tax dollars, and even businesses, elsewhere. One analysis estimates that Missouri has lost between $362 million to $879 million in household income, and that's expected to increase.

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.

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.