He declared his intention to veto the policy, saying, “Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting people’s lives.”
“Now, while there are a few instances in the law where the state overturns the parents’ medical decisions, I can’t think of any instances where this is done where it goes against not only the parent’s decision but also the treating physicians’ and medical teams’ judgments,” he said. As a result, I am unable to sign this bill as it is currently written.
DeWine announced a three-pronged approach, but added that he thought it were administrative actions that could address the main issues with the bill.
As part of gender-affirming care, he is ordering organizations to forbid surgery on children under the age of 18. He stated that he thinks there is a “fallacy out there that this goes straight to surgery.”
He will direct appropriate agencies to report findings to the Legislature and the public about minors and adults seeking treatment because he agreed with the legislature that there were no complete data on those who receive gender-affirming treatment.
Last but not least, 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 complex legislation was being debated in the legislature, 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 legislation as being callous, based on fearmongering rather than 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 Democratic support. However, it would have permitted any minor resident of Ohio to carry on with the care they are already receiving.
DeWine’s veto breaks the global trend toward passing similar norms. Despite the fact that these therapies 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 cases are the targets of lawsuits, but authorities 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 gender. Supporters argued that prohibiting trans athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports upholds the fairness and integrity of those activities.
Trans athletes who compete 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 that is scheduled to be finalized early next month would invalidate those bans.
