The law prohibits transgender girls and women from participating in high school or college sports teams that align with their gender identity and gender-affirming care for adolescents.
On Wednesday, Ohio lawmakers overrode Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that would prevent trans adolescents from receiving estrogen therapy, gender transition surgery, or puberty blockers.
Less than four days after the Republican governor’s veto, the state legislature under Democratic control made the decision. The state House overrode Mr. DeWine’s veto on January 10, and the Senate has now given the law 90 days to take effect.
Only transgender minors who have already started transition care treatments will be able to receive them, according to Ohio residents. About 8,500 children between the ages of 13 and 17 in the state identified as transgender, while about 46,500 adults did the same, according to a report published in 2022 by the Williams Institute at U.C.L.A. law school.
The legislation passed in Ohio is part of a nationwide effort to limit transgender minors’ rights. At least 20 states passed restrictions or limitations on young people’s gender transition care next year, all of which had legislatures controlled by Republicans. Only three states had limitations on minors’ access to gender-transition medical care before 2023, according to a New York Times analysis.
Health professionals who provide transition care to adolescents in contravention of the Ohio law, which was first passed by the legislature in early December, risk losing their licenses and being sued.
Ohio lawmakers who supported the bill claimed that physicians frequently put pressure on parents to approve change care treatments for their kids. Representative Gary Click, the bill’s sponsor, has claimed that kids are “being manipulated by the doctors.” However, prominent American health organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, advocate against legislative bans and believe that minors should have access to such care.
Transgender girls and women are also forbidden by law from participating in high school or college sports clubs that reflect their gender identity. Although some other state laws do not address the sports team issue, the bill’s procedures are generally in line with those of other Republican-led states.
Trans players playing on K–12 and collegiate sports clubs are subject to restrictions in at least 20 states. Supporters argued that they are essential to safeguard the security and dignity of women’s and children’s activities in Ohio, as well as abroad. Critics argue that regulations may damage the physical and mental health of transgender children, as they only apply to a very small number of students.
In a concerted effort by the Republican Party to mobilize social conservatives around trans issues for the 2024 primaries, Mr. DeWine’s veto was an uncommon rejection by that party. In the past, Mr. DeWine has deviated from the Republican Party’s position on a number of other problems, including his initial Covid-19 pandemic response.
If the bills were to become law, Mr. DeWine warned in his veto message that “Ohio would be saying that the state, or the government, knows better what is medically ideal for a child than the two people who love that child the most, the parents.” According to a spokesperson, the governor made his decision after visiting hospitals and speaking with people who had been “both positively and negatively affected” by gender-affirming treatment.
Former President Donald J. Trump attacked Mr. DeWine on social media after he vetoed the legislation, claiming that the governor had “fallen to the extreme left” and expressing his hope for the Ohio legislature to overturn his ruling.
A week after the veto, Mr. DeWine issued an executive order forbidding gender-transition surgeries at state hospitals or mobile clinics for children under the age of 18 and directing Ohio health agencies to introduce regulations mandating the involvement of a team of medical professionals in prescribing treatment for people who are gender affirming, including endocrinologists, bioethicists, and mental health specialists. Kids would also be required by law to explicitly consent to all treatments.
A sign that Mr. DeWine may have been attempting to reach a settlement with Republican politicians was the directives’ appearance of adding new limits to transgender people that were not part of the bill. However, the governor eventually maintained his opposition to the broader ban on gender-affirming care.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio rejected the proposal after the Ohio House voted to override Mr. DeWine’s veto. “Ohioans don’t want government officials in charge of their medical care.” The group stated in a statement that parents, kids, and doctors should handle these issues.
The lobbying group also criticized Mr. DeWine’s proposed limitations, saying that they would force “dozens of transgender Ohioans to go without healthcare remedies they and their physicians know they need” by prohibiting primary care providers from administering hormone solutions to people of any age.
Court challenges have been brought in more than half of the states that have outlawed transitional healthcare for minors. In most of the problems, the dispute is still ongoing. Tennessee’s transgender children and their families petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in November to overturn its decision to forbid change care for adolescents. According to constitutional authorities, if the court decides to hear the case, it will have an impact on state bans across the nation.
