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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Christian counselors seeking to overturn conversion therapy bans in Kansas City and Jackson County. The bans, passed in 2019 and 2023 respectively, forbid practitioners from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors, but Bailey's lawsuit argues that the bans violate the counselors’ First Amendment rights.

The city and county have pledged to defend their bans in court, which punish conversion therapists with $500 to $1,000 fines and up to 180 days in jail if they offer services promising to turn kids straight or cisgender. However, Bailey's lawsuit follows a recent executive order by President Donald Trump pledging to prosecute anti-Christian bias, something that could aid Christian conversion therapists in their legal battles against the bans.

All major medical and psychological associations in the U.S. have denounced conversion therapy and say that attempts to change one’s LGBTQ+ identity are ineffective, unnecessary, and harmful.

As “evidence,” Bailey cites findings from the Cass Report, a 400-page U.K. report that largely opposed gender-affirming psychological and medical support for trans youth. The report was widely criticized for excluding studies that support the benefits of such care.

In 2024, Bailey began investigating healthcare providers who work with LGBTQ+ youth. A report found that Bailey used flimsy legal pretexts and harmed trans people's mental health.