Mel Tully, an MU student receiving gender-affirming care through the Student Health Center, faces a lot of unknowns as Attorney General Andrew Bailey seeks to enforce an emergency regulation targeting that care.

A state judge Wednesday delayed the potential implementation of Bailey’s regulations until 5 p.m. Monday. They had been set to take effect Thursday.

“It’s ambiguous,” Tully said of the regulations Bailey proposed last month under state consumer protection laws.

“And I think that no matter what any individual doctor wants, they can’t really say, we’re going to keep doing this, they can’t put that on paper anywhere,” Tully said about continuing treatment through Student Health.

Tully said she feels lucky that her home state is Illinois, where she can continue receiving treatment this summer through a new doctor. Still, this requires seeking out a new health care provider and possibly having to change her treatment.

Her experience reflects the concerns about Bailey’s efforts no matter what the courts decide about their legality.

Tully worries for her transgender friends who have either just started at MU or are state residents, as they have more limited options for where to access health care. Some have already talked about transferring to a different university out of state or brought up other plans to leave Missouri, she said.

“It’s just a very anxiety-inducing situation, and like it’s kind of life and death for a lot of people,” Tully said. “It sure does feel like the optimal number of trans people existing in the state of Missouri for Andrew Bailey is zero.”

Being involved in the fight against this legislation and regulations is what keeps her hopeful, and she’s been involved in direct action at the state Capitol, including a protest Saturday.

Bailey’s emergency ruling had been in line to take effect Thursday. But a lawsuit filed by the Missouri ACLU, Lambda Legal, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP sought a temporary order blocking it so the regulations could be argued on their merits.

In turn, Bailey attempted to have that suit moved to federal court, but a Missouri judge rejected that effort Wednesday. St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo then put Bailey’s emergency rule on hold until at least 5 p.m. Monday, according to the Associated Press.

While the delay blocks immediate action, Bailey’s effort has created a lot of fear and uncertainty for transgender Missourians already receiving care in the state.

The regulation states that in order to receive gender-affirming care, a patient must have persistent gender dysphoria for three or more years, pass a screening for autism, have at least 15 hours of therapy over 18 months and have other mental health comorbidities treated and resolved. Gender dysphoria is generally defined as a state of severe distress or unhappiness caused by feeling that one’s gender identity does not match one’s sex as registered at birth.

It’s unclear whether patients already receiving treatment in Missouri will be allowed to continue care under Bailey’s regulation.

The regulation was announced as the legislature was debating bills to restrict gender-affirming care for minors. Originally, Bailey’s emergency regulation appeared to be aimed at minors, but his office later said that it included transgender adults.

The move has been seen as one of the most aggressive steps taken nationally against the transgender community. Bailey issued the order based on his effort to enforce state consumer protection laws, arguing that some treatment of transgender individuals was not being delivered in compliance with the laws.