Defending Children From Radical Gender Ideology: Proposed Missouri 2026 Legislative Goals

Our legislative goal is to extend the existing ban on transgender drugs and procedures for minors indefinitely. A second common-sense objective is to require school personnel to inform guardians and parents if a child is undergoing a gender transition.

The Growth of Child Transgenderism

There is a growing phenomenon of social influences trigger sudden gender identity issues in groups of adolescents. One of the most striking examples of this issue comes from the Parkway School District. In a disclosed January 2022 email, a Parkway counselor reached out to Washington University seeking guidance on whether to inform parents that a group of elementary school girls had requested chest binders. The counselor wrote, “We are seeing an increase in students wanting to use chest binders.” Washington University advised the district not to notify the parents.

What is even more disturbing is that when a school district employee sought professional advice, the Washington University Gender Clinic in St. Louis advised against informing parents that their daughters were trying to bind their breasts. Unfortunately, this practice of withholding information from parents is common in St. Louis County public schools. Our pages have documented the practice of withholding gender identity changes from parents.

There is a rise in transgender identification among young people—a trend rarely seen in previous generations. A recent study, Increases in Self-identifying as Transgender Among U.S. Adults, 2014–2022, concluded: “Results suggest that more people self-identify as transgender than in previous generations, with young people driving this change.”

The concern with promoting transgenderism in schools is that it probably contributes to increased rates of gender dysphoria, which in turn drives demand for risky, irreversible drugs and surgical procedures. Once a child’s healthy body parts are surgically removed, it cannot simply be replaced.

St. Louis was the center of a national scandal when an employee came forward to blow the whistle on the St. Louis. Jamie Reed wrote a shocking expose and summarized her article in the Free Press on January 23, 2023, that, “There are more than 100 pediatric gender clinics across the U.S. I worked at one. What’s happening to children is morally and medically appalling.” She also claimed, that,

Until 2015 or so, a very small number of these boys comprised the population of pediatric gender dysphoria cases. Then, across the Western world, there began to be a dramatic increase in a new population: teenage girls, many with no previous history of gender distress, suddenly declared they were transgender and demanded immediate treatment with testosterone. I certainly saw this at the center. One of my jobs was to do intake for new patients and their families. When I started there were probably 10 such calls a month. When I left there were 50, and about 70 percent of the new patients were girls. Sometimes clusters of girls arrived from the same high school.

What happened at Parkway is happening all over the country. A recent New York Times opinion piece from Andrew Sullivan on June 26, 2025, pointed out that,

Kids all over the country were affected. Your children were taught in elementary school that being a boy or a girl was something they could choose and change at will. Your daughter found herself running against a trans girl (i.e., a biological male) in athletics. Children in elementary school got to pick pronouns, and some children socially transitioned at school without their parents’ knowledge or permission.

The International Response

In response to the growth in gender reversing procedures, a growing number of countries have paused or reversed access to medical gender transitioning for minors. Once seen as leaders in gender-affirming care, countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Finland have shifted course due to concerns about long-term safety, lack of evidence, and increasing reports of regret. The 2023 Cass Review in the UK concluded that the scientific basis for using puberty blockers and hormones in minors was “weak.” As a result, the Tavistock Clinic in London was shut down by the United Kingdom’s National Institute of Health in the spring of 2023.

Similarly, Sweden and Finland have stopped routinely prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors outside of clinical trials, citing serious concerns about bone density, fertility, and mental health. Norway, France, and Denmark have also categorized youth transition care as “experimental” and significantly limited its availability, recommending mental health support as the first line of treatment.

What is Happening in the US and Missouri

The recently released Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria Review of Evidence and Best Practices, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services summarized the danger of gender-affirming care. The study found that:

U.S. medical professionals and associations have fallen short of their duty to prioritize the health interests of young patients, U.S. medical professionals and associations have fallen short of their duty to prioritize the health interests of young patients.

In the United States, 27 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, including the use of puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery. Conversely, 18 states and Washington D.C. have passed “shield laws” to protect access to such care and shield providers from legal consequences. This legal divide is expected to widen following the pivotal June 2025 U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee’s ban and effectively cleared the way for similar laws in other states. This landmark ruling empowers states to act in defense of children.

In Missouri, the SAFE Act (SB 49) was signed into law by Governor Mike Parson on June 7, 2023, and took effect on August 28, 2023. While the law’s ban on surgeries for minors is permanent, the ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy is currently set to expire on August 28, 2027. It prohibits new prescriptions for puberty blockers or hormone therapy for minors and bans all gender-transition surgeries for individuals under 18. Although minors who began treatment before the effective date are technically allowed to continue, most clinics have discontinued such care due to legal risks and liability concerns.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an emergency rule in April 2023 declaring gender-affirming care “experimental.” This rule was later withdrawn following the passage of SB 49. The restriction is also set to expire on August 28, 2027.

Why This Matters to St. Louis Area Parents

Our webpages are full of examples that show that area schools are promoting the LGBTQ+ agenda. When a child socially transitions they won’t tell the parents their child is transitioning. It should be obvious to even the casual observer that the demand for gender affirming care is in large part due to Public Schools promoting the LGBTQ+ agenda to impressionable children. The aforementioned procedures, such surgeries and drugs are still readily accessible across the state line in Illinois.

Every parent would want to know if their their child was changing genders irrespective of their politics or support of LGBTQ+ community. In a soon to be released survey of some of the most progressive school district in the area, 60% of Kirkwood School District surveryed registered voters said yes to this question,

Should Kirkwood School District employees be required to notify parents District employees learn that their child is considering changing or has changed their gender, pronouns, or preferred name at school?

What Needs to Be Done Legislatively in Missouri

An urgent legislative priority is to make the prohibition on transgender drugs and procedures for minors permanent. A second priority is to require school personnel to inform parents if District employees know a child is undergoing or considering gender transitioning.