Judge grants anti-trans attorney general’s latest demand in his crusade against trans health care

The Republican attorney general for Missouri claimed a victory on Thursday in his crusade against trans families in the state. A judge ruled Planned Parenthood must turn over certain records requested by his office, which is investigating claims kids were provided gender-affirming drugs without a proper assessment.

Planned Parenthood called Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s case a “sham investigation” and said the court “has green-lit the ongoing assault on Missourians’ health care” with its decision in the AG’s favor.

Related:

Missouri just debated 8 anti-trans bills in a single day

The state is considering 41 other bills attacking transgender rights this year.

Bailey called it a “big day” and said “no stone will be left unturned” in his efforts to uncover malfeasance by Planned Parenthood and other organizations providing gender-affirming care in the state.

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“There is no more important fight than to ensure Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children,” Bailey said.

It was not a total victory for the crusading AG. Bailey failed to obtain records protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal law known as HIPAA that protects patient privacy.

While calling the court’s decision a “deep disappointment,” Richard Muniz, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said the organization was “grateful the court understood the Attorney General could not violate the privacy of our patients.”

Missouri state legislators approved a law restricting transgender care for minors last year. The law went into effect in August.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed that bill and another banning trans student-athletes in June, claiming he was protecting kids from “harmful” conditions and “nonsense.”

Bailey launched his investigation after claiming he learned the organization provided “life-altering gender transition drugs to children without any therapy assessment,” according to the AG’s spokeswoman Madeline Sieren at the time.

The investigation took place as part of Bailey’s broader investigation into the state’s gender-affirming care clinics, sparked by accusations from a former employee of Washington University’s Pediatric Transgender Center clinic that kids were being pressured into gender-affirming care treatment without understanding the side effects, according to the Associated Press.

After Bailey targeted Planned Parenthood as part of his sweeping investigation, the organization sued last March, claiming the AG “failed to show how Plaintiff [Planned Parenthood] is directly involved in his investigation.”

In his decision, St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer said Bailey argued the demand should stand because “he has an affidavit that alleges intentional dishonesty in Plaintiff’s medical and billing practices.”

The judge agreed Bailey’s office had broad powers to investigate so-called consumer protection cases.

“The Defendant is investigating possible dishonesty by Plaintiff in their medical and billing practices,” Judge Stelzer said. “It is clear from the statute that the Defendant has the broad investigative powers when the consumer is in possible need of protection and there is no dispute in this matter that the MMPA [Missouri Merchandising Practices Act] applies.”

Following the state ban on trans care for minors, Washington University discontinued gender-affirming care for kids, including grandfathered patients already receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

The investigation into Washington University’s now-shuttered Pediatric Transgender Center continues, however, Bailey’s spokesperson said. Among the AG’s demands: the medical records of over 1000 clinic patients.