He declared, announcing his determination to reject 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 examples where this is done where it goes against not only the parent’s decision but also the medical judgment of the treating physician and against the judgment of our treating team of medical experts.” I am therefore unable to sign this bill in its current form as a result.
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 directing organizations to outlaw surgery on patients under the age of 18. He asserted that he thinks there is a “fallacy” that this requires immediate surgery.
He will guide important agencies to report findings to the Legislature and the public about minors and adults seeking treatment because he agreed with the government that there were insufficient data on those who receive gender-affirming treatment.
Lastly, DeWine stated that his administration would create 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 legislation was being debated in the government, plenty of opponents testified against it, including medical and mental health professionals, educators, religious leaders, parents of transgender children, and 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 hormone treatment, or have gender reassignment surgery that would further align them with their gender identity under the legislation, which passed the Senate earlier this month with only Republican support. However, it would have permitted any minor resident of Ohio to continue with their current course of treatment.
DeWine’s veto deviates from a general trend toward enacting such rules. Despite the fact that these procedures have been available in the United States for more than ten years and have long been endorsed by major medical associations, over 20 states have passed laws restricting or banning them since 2021. The majority of those claims are the targets of lawsuits, but courts have reached conflicting conclusions.
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 genders. Supporters argued that prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports upholds their fairness and integrity.
Trans athletes playing on K–12 and collegiate sports teams across the state have been banned in some way by at least 20 states. A rule put forth by President Joe Biden’s administration and scheduled for early next time would violate those bans.