Missouri joins states' suit over Biden order on fed-backed gender transition procedures

Missouri GOP Attorney General Andrew Bailey said Wednesday he's filing a lawsuit against President Biden's executive order last month requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to ban conversion therapy and expand access to gender-affirming treatment.

Bailey argues the order illegally forces healthcare providers to perform harmful gender “transitions.”

"The federal government cannot force doctors to mutilate children. And the American people should not have to foot the bill," Bailey posted on X.

Missouri is joined in the suit with Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and the American College of Pediatricians. 

The president’s executive order, more specifically, calls on DHHS to clarify that federally funded programs cannot offer conversion therapy, the practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and work on a public information campaign about the practice, according to Politico.