Kansas City and Jackson County are being sued for using civil penalties and criminal sanctions against counseling to help gender-confused children feel better about themselves, and refusing to affirm their transgender identities, while Europe continues its pushback.

The City of Fountains could suffer more humiliation in court if it defends censoring mental-health professionals who help children feel better about themselves.

Wyatt Bury, a licensed professional counselor, and Pamela Eisenreich filed a lawsuit against Missouri’s Kansas City County and Jackson County for banning talk therapy that was intended to reduce gender confusion in children and unwanted same-sex attractions. They also encouraged “counselors” who helped children achieve the opposite goal such as removing healthy breasts.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which also represents Kaley Chiles as she challenges Colorado’s similar laws under the First Amendment, is representing them.

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The split 10th U.S. A split 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled last fall against Chiles, claiming that the law “incidentally involved speech.” This could lead to a Supreme Court review of its 2018 precedent against California’s compelled speeches for pro-life pregnancy centres.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, along with Bury and Eisenreich, is also a Plaintiff to protect residents of the state from city and county rules. This includes minors who are denied “speech which would rectify problems caused by previous interventions” in social and medical gender transformation, including preferred pronouns, hormonal and surgical procedures.

He stated that “social circumstances” played at least a role in youths’ transgender identities, and that there was “substantial reason” to believe “social transition and pharmacological intervention” caused such confusion among minors. Citing the 400-page Cass Report commissioned by U.K. National Health Service, which led to the closure of its youth gender clinic.

In recent years, several European countries that are more progressive than America have severely restricted gender transitions medicalized even though they continue to be hostile towards free speech.

In December, the U.K. banned all new prescriptions of transition-focused puberty blocking drugs. Labour Prime Minister Keir starmer maintained his predecessor’s ban on private clinics prescribing these drugs. The previous Tory government discouraged school social transitions due to “significant psychological effects” based on the Cass Report.

Queensland, Australia, has halted the use of both hormones and blockers for those under 18 years old in its public healthcare system, indefinitely, until it can conduct its own review. It cited tighter restrictions in Denmark Finland France Norway and Sweden.

Genspect, a gender-critical organisation, shared an open note from a Queensland pediatrician who analyzed the external evaluation of the government last year which found “no concern” regarding its practices for youth gender.

Dylan Wilson wrote: “As professionals, we’ve been asleep behind the wheel in this regard.” The rest of the globe is awakening.

The newfound caution in Europe about affirming gender confusion among minors is not making it more tolerant of peaceful speech, or even thoughtful silence. In the U.K., a prolife activist was arrested twice for praying in her mind near an abortion clinic.

Isabel Spruce Vaughn documents her interactions with the police, who question her about her prayer. She even reminds them of her previous exoneration to no avail. A West Midlands police officer tells SpruceVaughn in new footage that her “mere” presence may violate the buffer zone law, which is a “law against harassment, alarm, and distress,” because of her pro-life views.

ADF and Bailey’s office both announced on Monday that they were suing Kansas City and Jackson County for what Bailey called their “dangerous, overreaching” laws which force children and counselors into conforming to a radical agenda of transgender under the city 2019 and county 2023 laws.

Bryan Neihart, senior counsel at ADF, said that families and children needed counselors who were free to tell the truth about gender ideologies.

The suit states that no one at the public hearings of either law claimed to have been “harmed” by talk therapy, as opposed to involuntary techniques which are aversive and physically intrusive. However, several people praised it for allowing them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The suit states that both ordinances violate Bury’s and Eisenreich’s First Amendment rights by prohibiting their assistance to a minor who has a “self selected goal” which is at odds with what the city and county believe, namely, realigning gender identification with sex and/or attraction to the other sex.

Kansas City’s Public Accommodations Law, a third ordinance, “both compels” and “restricts” speech about gender identity and sexuality by forcing counselors “to provide services to adults and children who wish affirm views on sex or gender that are at odds with religious beliefs” while censoring the rationale of their only providing counseling in line their beliefs.

The suit claims that a counselor could face not only fines of $1,500 per session for helping a child “with their goal to follow a particular sexual ethics” under city and county ordinances but also damages, attorney fees, and up to six months imprisonment in jail, according the Public Accommodations Law.

Eisenreich is the immediate threat, as she “currently counsels minors” to achieve outcomes that are at odds with the goals of both governments. She “steers clear” of “critical conversations” to avoid breaking the law. Both counselors “constantly” chill their own speech and operate under threat of punishment.

According to the lawsuit, Bury provides “integrated Christian counselling” and sees minors who have “anxiety and trauma” or “other mental-health problems”. However, he does not expand his practice because of the laws governing counseling.

Bailey’s section states that “talk therapy can help resolve gender dysphoria”, without “surgeries” or “pharmacological interventions.”

The Missouri state court judge who upheld Missouri’s med