In a devastating blow to transgender youth and their families, the Missouri Senate voted Thursday to permanently enshrine restrictions on gender-affirming health care and transgender student athletes, removing the sunset clauses that had been set to expire in 2027. The move, which passed largely along party lines, now heads to the Missouri House for consideration, with Republican leaders describing it as a “top priority.”
The bill, Senate Bill 10 (SB10), initially contained provisions unrelated to transgender rights, including extending the Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA) that helps fund the state’s Medicaid program. However, earlier this month, Republican senators attached amendments eliminating the expiration date on bans preventing transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming medical care and competing in sports in accordance with their gender identity.
A Fight to Be Heard
Senate Democrats, blindsided by the amendments, launched a fierce opposition. However, as Senate Democratic Leader Doug Beck of Affton admitted, the response came too late. Beck characterized the delay as a learning experience for his caucus, which includes many newly elected members. Despite their efforts, the legislation proceeded, highlighting what many see as the GOP’s ongoing strategy to marginalize LGBTQ+ individuals.
State Sen. Stephen Webber, a Democrat from Columbia, made an impassioned attempt to highlight the hypocrisy of his Republican colleagues by proposing amendments that would add expiration dates to Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriage. His amendment, which sought to put a sunset clause on language declaring that “any purported marriage not between a man and a woman is invalid,” was overwhelmingly rejected. The 19-12 vote against it—joined by one Democrat, Sen. Karla May of St. Louis—reinforced what Webber described as a pattern of targeting LGBTQ+ individuals under the guise of “protecting children.”
“We’re not here talking about kids. We’re not talking about sports,” Webber declared on the Senate floor. “We’re talking about a policy of othering.”
Republican Justifications and Democratic Resistance
GOP lawmakers defended their push for permanence, claiming it was necessary to safeguard youth and uphold fairness in women’s sports.
“I want my little girl to be able to participate in sports,” said state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville. “I want to make sure that she’s able to flourish in a sport and not have her dreams and her potential to be completely removed or deserted due to an unfortunate circumstance.”
Others, such as Republican Sen. Nick Schroer of Defiance, admitted reservations about other aspects of SB10 but insisted that making the bans on gender-affirming care and trans athletes permanent was worth it.
“I think those two alone—saving life, saving liberty, saving the pursuit of happiness for many of these kids that are impacted by this—it outweighs the other provisions,” Schroer said before voting in favor of the bill.
Despite the GOP’s near-unified front, two Republican senators, Mike Moon of Ash Grove and Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Arnold, broke ranks and voted against the bill. Their opposition was not due to concern for transgender Missourians but rather hesitations regarding the broader legislative package.
Silencing Trans Voices
SB10’s passage in the Senate is yet another instance in a disturbing trend of Missouri lawmakers making policy decisions about transgender individuals without their input. When the original bans on gender-affirming care and trans athletes were enacted in 2023, Democratic senators successfully negotiated a 2027 expiration date as a compromise. Now, with that safeguard removed, the likelihood of relief for transgender Missourians feels increasingly out of reach.
For many in the trans community, the sense of being ignored by lawmakers is just as painful as the policies themselves. During a recent filibuster, Webber acknowledged the deep frustration and despair among transgender Missourians and their families.
“I know that there are people who, if they could, would come on this floor and scream to have their struggles, to have their story known,” Webber said. “Losing is bad, nobody likes to lose. But losing when no one can hear you is worse.”
The passage of SB10 in the Senate comes just months after a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming care was dismissed, further cementing the legal barriers against transgender youth seeking medical support. The judge’s ruling upheld the state’s authority to prohibit hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors, despite overwhelming evidence from major medical associations that such care is safe, effective, and often life-saving.
The Bottom Line
The Missouri House of Representatives now takes up SB10, where a Republican supermajority is likely to advance the bill with little resistance. If signed into law, Missouri would join other GOP-led states in solidifying long-term restrictions on gender-affirming care, despite mounting evidence that these bans have devastating consequences.
Missouri’s transgender youth and their families are left wondering what the future holds. For many, these bans are more than political statements—they are existential threats to their well-being. With suicide rates among transgender youth disproportionately high due to societal rejection and lack of affirming care, medical professionals and LGBTQ+ advocates fear the long-term effects of these policies.
Transgender Missourians, their families, and allies continue to fight against the erasure of their rights, but as state lawmakers press forward, the battle grows increasingly uphill. Advocates encourage those impacted to seek support from organizations like PROMO Missouri, the ACLU, and national LGBTQ+ health networks, which remain committed to legal and community-based challenges against these harmful policies.
Missouri’s transgender community is not backing down. Their voices may not be heard in the legislature, but they continue to speak out, to fight, and to exist—despite the government’s repeated attempts to silence them.
