Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has taken action against a clinic that sought to block the state’s ban on gender-transition drugs for minors, accusing the provider of previously treating children without adequate psychological evaluations.

The counterclaim filed by Mr. Bailey alleges that Southampton Community Healthcare violated the state’s consumer-protection laws by failing to secure a “comprehensive mental health assessment” before prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors.

“Before gender transition interventions were banned for minors in Missouri, Southampton failed to adopt and consistently apply a policy of ensuring that each minor patient receive a comprehensive mental health assessment before undergoing such interventions,” the attorney general’s office said.

Senate Bill 49, known as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, took effect Aug. 28. The law forbids prescribing gender-transition drugs to new patients under the age of 18, although minors who received them before the law kicked in may continue to do so.

Southampton and two of its medical providers were among those challenging SB 49, which was signed into law in June by Republican Gov. Mike Parson. The court rejected their motion for a preliminary injunction in August.

Before that, Southampton joined LGBTQ groups and parents seeking to stop Mr. Bailey’s emergency order blocking gender-transition procedures for minors, calling it “baseless and discriminatory.” A state judge granted in May their request for a temporary injunction.

The Washington Times has reached out to Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, which represent Southampton in the litigation.

Mr. Bailey said he is seeking “full restitution for victims who underwent gender transition procedures without a mental health assessment, a civil penalty of $1,000 for each violation, and an injunction to halt future such violations.”

“As long as I’m Attorney General, I will fight to ensure that Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children,” Mr. Bailey said in a statement. “These providers failed Missouri’s children when they rejected even a diluted medical standard and subjected them to irreversible procedures. My office is not standing for it.”

Missouri landed at the center of an uproar over “gender-affirming care” in February when a former caseworker at the Washington University at St. Louis gender clinic said adolescents were routinely prescribed drugs without adequate mental health screenings.

A university-conducted review found that the whistleblower’s allegations were “unsubstantiated,” but said it would tighten its policies, including obtaining written parental consent before giving “gender affirming medication” to minors.

The university also said it would “reaffirm its policy prohibiting gender-affirming surgery” after finding six breast removals had been performed by Washington University on adolescent girls since 2018.

“Washington University physicians no longer perform gender-affirming surgeries on patients under the age of 18,” said the university’s April 21 report.

The SAFE Act has a four-year sunset clause, meaning it will expire in August 2027.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.