He declared, announcing his determination to veto the legislation, “Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life.”
While there are a few instances in the law where the state overturns the parents’ medical decisions, he said, “I can’t think of any instances where this is done where it goes against not only the parents’ decision but also the medical judgment of the treating physician and the judgment of our treating team of medical experts.” As a result, I am unable to sign this act as it is currently written.
DeWine, however, declared a three-pronged approach and stated that he thought there were administrative actions that could address the main issues with the bill.
As part of gender-affirming care, he is ordering organizations to forbid procedures on children under the age of 18. He asserted that he believes there is a “fallacy” that this requires immediate surgery.
He will direct relevant agencies to report findings to the Legislature and the general public regarding minors and adults seeking treatment because he concurred with the government that there were insufficient data on those receiving gender-affirming treatment.
Lastly, DeWine stated that his administration would draft rules and regulations to stop “pop-up clinics or fly-by-night operations” so that families could get “adequate counseling” regarding gender-affirming care.
When Ohio’s varied measure was being voted on by the government, thousands of critics testified against it, including medical and mental health professionals, educators, religious leaders, families of transgender children, and even trans people themselves.
They criticized the regulations for being callous, based more on fearmongering than on science, and endangering transgender youth’s quality of life.
Ohio minors would not have been allowed to take puberty blockers, receive other hormone therapies, or have gender reassignment surgery that would further align them with their gender identity under the legislation, which was approved by the government earlier this month with just Republican support. However, it would have permitted any minor resident of Ohio to continue with the care they are already receiving.
DeWine’s filibuster deviates from a general trend toward enacting such legislation. Despite the fact that these procedures have been available in the United States for more than ten years and have long been supported by major medical associations, since 2021, legislation restricting or outlawing them have come into effect. The majority of those laws are the targets of lawsuits, but authorities have made conflicting decisions.
Additionally, the bill would have explicitly prohibited transgender girls and women from participating in sports that were consistent with their gender identity and mandated that public K–12 schools and universities designate separate teams for male and female athletes. Supporters argued that prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports upholds their fairness and integrity.
Some form of restrictions on transgender athletes competing on K–12 and collegiate sports teams has been passed by at least 20 states. A rule put forth by President Joe Biden’s administration that is scheduled to be finalized early next month would counteract those bans.
