On Wednesday, Ohio lawmakers may revisit the capitol as House Republicans attempt to revive HB 68, a bill that would prohibit gender-affirming care for trans children.
The special session follows Governor Mike DeWine’s unexpected veto of HB 68 late last month, which was praised by LGBTQ+ activists and families of transgender kids in the state.
The governor declared, “I think families, not the government, should be making these important decisions for their children.”
However, when the governor proposed new restrictions on the rights of transgender adults just one week later, HB 68’s opponents were perplexed.
Chase Strangio, the ACLU’s deputy director for transgender justice, said, “these regulations are, in some ways, worse than the proposed statute.” “This essentially amounts to a ban on transgender care.”
Administrative regulations that “go also beyond” the scope of HB 68 were unveiled by the governor on Friday.
The governor stated in his speech last quarter, announcing his veto, that “I think we can achieve several goals in House Bill 68 by administrative rules that will have fewer chances of surviving judicial review and being adopted.”
“I concur with the court’s concerns about upcoming clinics trying to sell patients subpar or even unethical treatments.”
Many supporters and parents of transgender kids in Ohio believed that the rule proposal was a political ploy to prevent the state’s Democratic supermajority from deposing the governor, also buoyed by DeWine’s decision to leave his party and veto HB 68.
Mallory Golski, civic engagement and advocacy director at Kaleidoscope Youth Center, a Columbus-based non-profit that supports LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio, said, “I’d like to give DeWine the benefit of the doubt that he’s implementing these rules and ideas to try to pacify Democrats and prevent an override veto.” But whether intentionally or accidentally, he has made things worse.
The governor announced operational rules on Friday that would “go well beyond” the scope of HB 68 in an apparent effort to prevent his fellow Republicans from overriding the veto. If the rules are an attempt to stop Republicans from overriding DeWine’s veto, as some supporters think, then that attempt seems to have failed. During a highly anticipated special legislative session on Wednesday, House Republicans are expected to effectively vote to revive the bill.
The governor’s new proposal would mandate that all people seeking gender-affirming care, including adults, receive the “care and supervision” of a team of medical professionals, such as an endocrinologist, bioethicist, and psychiatrist, even though HB 68 only applied to juveniles. Additionally, all transgender people may be required to go through “lengthy” mental health counseling.
Strangio remarked, “We’ve seen this playbook with abortion previously. You start by focusing the constitutional restriction on children’s access to care, then eventually expand those laws to adults.”
Health professionals would also be required to track the number of people diagnosed with gender dysphoria and receive treatment every six months under the new regulations. After a period of public comment, the Ohio wellness agencies could adopt and enforce the rules.
Nick Zingarelli, whose 14-year-old daughter is transgender, said, “If you’re old enough to register for the draft, to sign a contract, and to vote, then you should be making your own healthcare decisions without the government getting involved.”
After the Missouri legislature intensified efforts to limit trans minors’ access to gender-affirming care, the Zingarelli family relocated to Ohio from St. Louis in 2022. Zingarelli believed that his native Ohio would provide his teenage daughter with “a less political life” despite being born and raised in Cincinnati.
However, Zingarelli and the larger coalition of families turned advocates anticipated some opposition from the governor. When Republican Speaker Jason Stephens announced that the Ohio house would meet days earlier than scheduled in an effort to revitalize HB 68, the kids were disappointed but not surprised.
However, the governor’s use of executive authority to influence the lives of transgender people was hardly anticipated by the parents.
Advocates for LGBTQ+ people compared DeWine’s proposed regulations to the targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws, which have closed clinics in states that limit access to abortion by imposing expensive and medically unnecessary requirements.
Golski stated, “It’s a similar approach here. They’re telling us, don’t worry, care is still legal, but these new hurdles must be overcome in order to comply with this nebulous and perplexing rule.”
This week, adult trans patients at a clinic in Columbus reported to the Guardian that their providers had warned them that if the governor’s rules went into effect, the clinic might probably have to close.
Residents of transgender Ohio still hold out hope that the senate, which is generally more moderate than the house, might stop being so zealous about overriding vetoes. During the public comment period, during which Ohio health officials will consider public concerns about the proposed rules, activists are also working to change the language of DeWine’s operational rules.
Golski stated, “We’re really hoping that the state listens to the governor’s comments. The operational rules could be just as, if not more, devastating for trans people in this state than what the governor is trying to do with the veto override.”
