Today, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed SB 49, the Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. The legislation permanently bans the performance of sex-change surgeries on minors and places a four-year moratorium on the prescription of puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones to minors for the purposes of attempting to change their sex. Missouri is one among 19 states to take action to restrict these practices in some capacity.

Gov. Parson also signed SB 39, which prohibits athletes at the K-12 and collegiate levels from participating in sports as the sex opposite of that on their birth certificate. Missouri is the 22nd state to enact a law protecting female athletics.

In response, Terry Schilling, president of American Principles Project (APP) released the following statement applauding the new laws:

“Today, we can celebrate another win for biological reality. As the vast majority of Americans recognize, being male and female are innate, unchangeable realities of every person. Forcing society to adhere to the fiction that any person can ‘change’ their sex has caused severe harm to many — from the women athletes who have lost opportunities in sports, to the vulnerable children who have been encouraged to undergo dangerous, sterilizing ‘gender transition’ procedures.

“Thankfully, many political leaders, including those in Missouri, are now standing up against this destructive movement and taking steps to once again recognize reality in law. We applaud Gov. Parson and Missouri lawmakers for putting biology above ideology, and we also extend our gratitude to Attorney General Andrew Bailey for his efforts to move these protections forward. The momentum continues to build nationwide to defeat the transgender industry, and we’re just getting started.”

To schedule an engagement with American Principles Project, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or pdupont@americanprinciplesproject.org.