Now that Republicans in the Ohio Senate have joined their House colleagues in overriding Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of House Bill 68, the ban on gender transition treatment for minors and on trans athletes in girls’ sports will go into effect in April. Those who would be impacted are now considering what will happen next.
Children’s hospitals in Ohio claim that those who are currently receiving treatment can maintain it. Before the override vote, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) had told reporters that.
However, Maria Bruno of Equality Ohio, the largest LGBTQ organization in the state, stated that it is “ambiguous” whether that is the case.
Bruno said, “I read it slightly differently, in that it’s unclear whether those people, who have received mental health treatment but haven’t started any prescription therapy, would be allowed to access this care.”
She also mentioned that a statewide organization that works with transgender individuals has received numerous calls.
According to Bruno, “Trans Ohio has been, I believe they said they’ve already been contacted by 68 families looking to relocate and/or receive care in other states. This has a significant impact on our community.”
According to Bruno, Equality Ohio is “looking at all of our constitutional options” as it decides how to assist people with transgender children.
The group is also considering the gender-affirming treatment guidelines DeWine proposed after vetoing HB 68. He has requested that state agencies gather and track information on the health care given to transgender kids in Ohio. However, activists have expressed concern over a provision of the law that mandates that transgender adults obtain comprehensive plans and healthcare professionals’ consent prior to receiving treatment.
“Its violence is astounding. According to Freda Levenson, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, it causes serious harm to transgender children. Levenson does not, however, state whether her group will file a lawsuit.
Two socially conservative organizations praised the Senate’s decision. In a statement, the Center for Christian Virtue stated that HB 68 “protects girls in K–12 and collegiate sports from being forced to compete against boys” and “prohibits the process of risky and sterilizing trans healthcare on children.” Less than six trans athletes are thought to compete in girls’ sports in Ohio, and they are governed by the rules of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
According to Ohio Right to Life, the law “may forbid doctors from prescribing cross-sex hormones or drugs to prevent puberty for the purpose of sex transition” and from performing experimental gender-reassignment surgery on minors. Under an executive order signed by DeWine on January 5, a year after he vetoed HB 68, gender-affirming procedures are prohibited. According to children’s hospitals, they aren’t occurring in Ohio.
