Restrictions on transgender athletes, health care survive Missouri House panel

Committee members approved legislation to limit gender-affirming care for minors on an 8-5 vote, with Rep. Tony Lovasco, R-O’Fallon, voting present and Rep. Renee Reuter, R-Imperial, joining the House General Laws Committee’s four Democrats in opposition.

The restriction on athletes advanced with Lovasco voting against it and Reuter voting for it, after a change that exempts children younger than sixth grade from the bill’s requirement that transgender athletes compete on the team corresponding to the sex that appears on their birth certificate.

After the hearing, on the health care vote, Reuter told the Post-Dispatch she didn’t think it was the government’s role to “inject itself” into private health care decisions.

“I truly believe that government should not inject itself between a doctor and a patient and a parent and a child,” she said. “Those are both sacred relationships and I didn’t think it was our place to put ourselves in the middle of that.”

Lovasco said he was voting present on the health care bill after voicing concerns about a change that struck language allowing for procedures if a child’s life is in danger.

“I am convinced that we do need to do something, that there is an important role for the state in this space,” he said. “I am not convinced that we need to rush into it.”

Rep. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair, defended the change to his legislation, saying some people might use it as a loophole.

“You don’t want a situation where some folks might say that there is — oh because of a likelihood of suicide ... (that they would) try to use that as an exception,” he said.

Democrats on the committee blasted another change to the bill barring transgender prison inmates from receiving gender-affirming care.

“I’m curious as to why we’re now including adults and blocking their access to medical care,” said Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit. “The entire premise — I thought — of this legislation was that we shouldn’t allow minors to make these decisions.”

Members of the committee also approved the restrictions on transgender athletes on a 9-5 vote. The law forbids transgender girls and women from competing on girl’s or women’s sports teams.

The latest version of the legislation would apply only to students in sixth grade or higher, said Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho.

The most recent version would also apply restrictions to private schools by withholding state funds due to schools violating the law. Public schools also wouldn’t be allowed to compete against private schools that don’t have a policy restricting transgender athletes.

Private colleges and universities would be subject to the requirement and would be on the hook for up to a $1 million fine per violation.

Reuter supported the legislation, saying she was more comfortable voting for it with the restriction no longer applying to elementary school-aged students.

“This was a bill that really wasn’t as much about transgender as it was about women,” she said.

Of children younger than sixth grade, “they typically have not yet hit puberty, therefore they are very similar and so I didn’t see a problem with that. And they also don’t have to deal with things like locker rooms.”

Lovasco, however, joined with Democrats to oppose the athletes bill.

“We have no reason whatsoever to regulate a private school in this regard,” he said. “This is not a safety issue that rises to the level of our interference.”

Both measures now move to a House rules committee before likely debate on the House floor.

Republicans hold 111 seats in the 163-member House, which means they can lose 29 GOP votes and still advance the bill to the Senate.

A Senate committee this week weighed separate bills to restrict transgender health care, but the Senate Emerging Issues Committee did not vote on those measures this week.

The legislation is House Bill 419 and House Bill 183.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Feb. 18 to clarify the intent of an amendment affecting private colleges and universities.