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.

A Missouri court on Monday upheld a new state law that bans some gender-affirming health care for minors, a victory for supporters of the ban as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case on the issue next week.

A Missouri court on Monday upheld a state law banning gender-affirming health care for minors and prohibiting Medicaid from covering transition-related care, allowing the controversial law to remain in place following a nine-day trial in September.

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

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.

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

The 2023 law was part of a nationwide push to regulate the lives of transgender people and has sparked fear in Missouri’s transgender community.

A Missouri judge on Monday upheld a 2023 state law that prohibits physicians from providing hormone treatment and puberty blockers to transgender youth. The $570 million project, which received incentives Tuesday from both the city and state,