Parson defended the signing of both bills in a tweet, calling it “an effort to protect the integrity of female sports and Missouri children from potentially harmful experimental surgeries and treatment.” Senate Bill 49, the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act,” will limit minors’ access to gender-affirming care, which spans a range of evidence-based treatments and approaches that benefit transgender and nonbinary people.
an LGBTQ public policy advocacy group based in Missouri, criticized Parson for signing the restrictions, particularly during Pride Month. “Today, Governor Parson showed just how little Missouri’s state government values LGBTQ+ lives and, in particular, transgender and gender-expansive youth,”Shira Berkowitz, PROMO’s senior director of public policy and advocacy, said in a statement.