Columbus, Ohio (WCMH) – Governor Mike DeWine will make an announcement on Friday about whether he will sign a bill that would forbid transgender minors from receiving certain medical care and prevent women from participating in school sports.
DeWine has scheduled a press conference for 10:30 am on Friday to discuss House Bill 68, the “Save Women’s Sports” Act, and other issues. More than two weeks have passed since the Statehouse passed the legislation on December 13 before the governor made his announcement.
If DeWine signs H.B. 68, the policy may take effect 90 days after it was passed into law. Given that the Republican majorities in Ohio’s House of Representatives and Senate could bypass the governor, even if he vetoes the bill, it is still possible that it will pass.
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H.B. 68 would forbid health professionals from giving trans children in the state gender-affirming treatment, such as hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers. Proponents of the bill claim that Ohioans under the age of 18 are allegedly unable to give the informed consent required to make those judgments.
According to Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, “We want to make sure that children aren’t being misled, that parents are not being lied to, and that kids aren’t harmed. We must ensure that there are safeguards in place because some of these decisions may be irreversible.”
A federal judge in Idaho rejected a similar measure on Thursday, ruling that parents have the right to receive gender-affirming care for their children under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.
According to Nick Lashutka, president of the organization, Ohio’s children’s hospitals “do not do any surgeries on minors for the condition of gender dysphoria.” However, the bill forbids doctors from operating on a minor for reconstructive surgery. H.B. 68 includes a grandfather clause that allows a doctor to continue prescribing drugs that prevent puberty in children “under certain circumstances” after the bill’s effective date.
The bill, according to Minority Leader Allison Russo of the Ohio House of Representatives (D-Upper Arlington), “violates parental rights” and “endangers the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.”
According to Russo, “every children’s hospital in the state opposed this and Ohio has the best kids’ hospital network.” “You’re on the wrong side of an issue if you support a bill that son’s facilities and every other major health organization oppose.”
Legislators changed H.B. 68 to bypass the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s trans student-athlete policy and include House Bill 6 to forbid trans women from participating in school sports. H.B. 68 states that if a trans child “deprived” an athlete of an athletic opportunity, they are entitled to sue for relief or damages.
The bill, according to Speaker of the Ohio House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), “states that we believe it’s a very important part of development and that it needs to be something that girls shouldn’t be participating in competitive sports with boys.”
The legislation, according to Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), is “yet another solution in search of a problem fanning the flame of the culture wars.”
According to Antonio, the act “reverses the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s equitable access for transgender students.” It is unfair and shows Ohio’s youngest residents that not all people are treated equally to deny this type of junior advancement to only some students.
“How many adolescents in Ohio have received gender-affirming treatment?”
Over the past ten years, Ohio’s children’s hospitals have treated about 3,300 patients, the majority of whom had their first visit at a gender clinic when they were under the age of 18, according to Lashutka. At their initial visit, the typical age was 16 years old. Only 7% of those 3,300 patients received a puberty blocker prescription, and only 35% received hormone therapy.
According to Lashutka, “while the majority of patients are not prescribed medication as minors, those who do get it consider it lifesaving and crucial.” “It is a risky precedent for the government to determine when pediatric treatment is acceptable.”
The multidisciplinary team at Akron Children’s Hospital, according to Shefali Mahesh, is responsible for treating 0.0015% of the more than 320,000 patients annually in its gender-affirming treatment center.
“It is degrading to have to travel to the Statehouse and beseech my elected officials to treat trans people like me with basic respect and ask for simple Constitutional rights,” according to 15-year-old trans Ohioan Sean Miller.
Miller remarked, “Rules like this are forcing happy Ohioans like me out of our properties. I desire to reside in Ohio. However, I cannot if I do not have the freedom to be in a system that fits who I am on the outside.”
A citizen of Bainbridge named Carey Callahan also testified, claiming that they are a transgender woman who had to leave Ohio in order to receive gender-affirming care. Callahan claimed to have personally experienced the conditions that trans people frequently go through, such as being denigrated and humiliated in health facilities.
Callahan remarked, “You aren’t preventing children from becoming a ‘detransitioner’ like me. You are traumatizing children and families, exiling nice people from our position, and working hard to make Ohio a less safe place to raise children.”
“How do some transgender people play sports in Ohio?”
Since the policy was put into effect eight years ago, 19 trans girls—10 in middle school and 9 in high school—have taken part in girls’ sports, including the six transgender students enrolled in the 2022–2023 academic year.
The OHSAA claimed that its policy is effective in protecting the integrity of female sports while also providing membership options for trans kids. It states that about 400,000 athletes in grades 7 through 12 participate in its sanctioned activities each school year.
Trans players “should have equal opportunities to participate in sports,” according to the five-page scheme, which also protects “the dignity of women’s sports.” A trans student can request OHSAA participation using the step-by-step procedure provided in the document. Find out more about the OHSAA’s decision-making procedure for transgender athletes here.
Trans Ohio high school student Connor McLaren testified at the Statehouse that she must follow the OHSAA’s authorization process each year in order to take part in school sports. Politicians, according to McLaren, are denying children like her the chance to belong when they need it the most.
“I can’t imagine what I would do without it,” said McLaren. “Playing sports, learning to function with a team, making those connections, and learning how it feels to be part of a group that so genuinely supports you changed my life.”
DeWine had previously defended the OHSAA and stated that he didn’t think lawmakers needed to address the issue.
According to DeWine, “individual sports teams and athletic organizations, such as the Ohio High School Athletic Association, can develop policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and representative institutions, making this matter ideally addressed outside of authorities.”
Parker, a trans central Ohio high school student whose full name was omitted from their testimony, testified that they have played field hockey their entire lives and supported the OHSAA’s existing plan. Parker charged that politicians were merely “jumping on the bandwagon” of other states’ bans on transgender players.
Parker remarked, “It is clear that you are not preserving women’s sports. The OHSAA already has policies in place that have been effective for decades. Don’t prevent trans young people like me from playing as their true selves.”
