RESOLUTION NO. 230385
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Sponsor: Councilmember Andrea Bough, Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilmember Eric Bunch
RESOLUTION - Declaring the City of Kansas City a Safe Haven for Gender-Affirming Healthcare through adoption of a Gender-Affirming Healthcare Policy.
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WHEREAS, as of the date of this legislation, Missouri law does not restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare or ban insurance exclusions for gender-affirming healthcare; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, members of the Missouri state legislature have introduced a record number of bills criminalizing access to gender affirming healthcare across Missouri; and
WHEREAS, some of the states bordering Missouri have proposed bills restricting or criminalizing access to gender-affirming healthcare and passed other legislation limiting the rights of transgender youth, and local clinics and advocates have heard from families living all over the continental United States who are considering moving away to access gender-affirming healthcare for their children; and
WHEREAS, other states may adopt or expand laws that impose criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions on health care professionals who provide gender-affirming healthcare and on persons who seek, receive, or assist another in receiving gender-affirming healthcare in the City of Kansas City; and
WHEREAS, gender-affirming healthcare has been proven to be evidence-based, medically necessary, and lifesaving by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatricians, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, amongst other institutions; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that gender transition, including access to gender-affirming healthcare, improves the overall wellbeing of transgender people and that access to gender...
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