Now that Republicans in the Ohio Senate have joined their House colleagues in overriding Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto, the ban on gender transition treatment for minors and trans athletes in girls’ sports will go into effect in April with House Bill 68. People who will be impacted are now considering what will happen next.
Children’s hospitals in Ohio claim that those who are currently receiving therapy will be able to continue it. Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) mentioned this before the override vote.
Equality Ohio, the largest LGBTQ organization in the state, through Maria Bruno, stated that it is “ambiguous” whether current patients can continue their treatment.
Bruno said, “I read it a little differently because it’s unclear whether people who have received mental health treatment but haven’t started any prescription treatments will be permitted to access this care.”
She also mentioned that Trans Ohio, a statewide organization that supports transgender individuals, has received numerous calls.
“Trans Ohio has been contacted by 68 families looking to relocate and/or receive care in other states,” Bruno stated. “This greatly impacts our community.”
Equality Ohio is “looking at all of our constitutional options” as it figures out 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 asked state agencies to collect and track information on the healthcare provided to transgender children in Ohio. However, activists have expressed concerns about a part of the law that requires transgender adults to obtain comprehensive plans and approval from medical professionals before receiving treatment.
“The brutality of it is astonishing,” said Freda Levenson, the constitutional chair of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, noting it causes serious harm to transgender children. Levenson did not state whether her organization might file a lawsuit.
Two socially conservative organizations praised the Senate’s decision. The Center for Christian Virtue stated in a statement that HB 68 “prohibits the practice of risky and sterilizing trans healthcare on children and protects girls in K–12 and collegiate sports from being forced to compete against boys.”
There aren’t many trans athletes in Ohio’s girls’ sports, according to Ohio Right to Life, and they are regulated by the rules of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Ohio Right to Life stated the law “may prevent doctors from prescribing cross-sex hormones or medications to stop puberty for the purpose of sex transition” and from performing empirical 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 banned. Children’s hospitals report that these procedures are not happening in Ohio.
