The state filed two motions for the case to be dismissed with claims that the plaintiffs, a group of families with transgender children and a pediatric endocrinologist, lack legal standing.

South Central Judicial District Judge Jackson Lofgren presides over a hearing Jan. 19, 2024, in Bismarck. (Amy Dalrymple/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — An attorney representing North Dakota in a lawsuit challenging its ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors asked a state judge on Monday to throw out the case.

A Missouri judge upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors Monday, a victory for opponents of the practice in a continuing nationwide battle over transgender issues.

The judge also suggested that treating gender dysphoria could be a slippery slope to depriving the Missouri legislature of its ability to regulate drugs.

Plaintiffs were challenging the block on gender-affirming health care, ahead of a US Supreme Court case next month.

Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri, representing the families and organizations suing to challenge the ban, plan to appeal.

The evidence from trial showed that the medical ethics of gender dysphoria treatment for children and adolescents are entirely unsettled,’ the judge wrote.