Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that forbids transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care and from participating in sports teams has been overridden by the state senate of Ohio on Wednesday.
The bill, HB68, forbids specialists from giving transgender students gender-affirming treatment, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries. Additionally, transgender female student-athletes are prohibited from playing on girls’ sports teams.
Importantly, the bill contains a grandfather clause that permits trans individuals who are already receiving care to continue doing so in the future.
DeWine vetoed the bill in December 2023, breaking with his party, saying in a media conference at the time that it was up to parents, not the state, to decide on their children’s health care.
DeWine said at the time, “Parents are making decisions about the most important thing in their lives, their child, and none of us may overlook the weight and complexities of those decisions.” “Many parents have told me that if they hadn’t received the care they received from an Ohio children’s hospital, their child would be dead today.”
A week later, DeWine put forth additional regulations to control gender-affirming care, which some proponents had previously claimed “are, in some ways, worse than the proposed statute.” Those operational regulations do “well exceed” HB68’s purview.
The governor declared his veto in December 2023, “I think we can solve a number of goals in House Bill 68 by operational rules that will be more likely to survive judicial scrutiny and be adopted.”
I agree with the court’s concerns about upcoming clinics trying to sell patients subpar or even unethical treatments.
DeWine continued, “None of the people I spoke with discussed surgery. They weren’t going there in the conversation at all. And I genuinely believe that there is a misconception out there that, you know, this goes straight to surgery. Simply put, it doesn’t. Every children’s hospital claims that we don’t perform surgeries.”
The bill was revived earlier this month by the Republican-controlled state legislature, and the state senate approved it 23 to 9, overturning the governor’s veto and advancing the legislation.
Ohio will join at least 22 other states that are either restricting or outright banning gender-affirming treatment when the bill becomes law in 90 days, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
An Arkansas law prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors was found to be unconstitutional by a federal judge. Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Texas, and Montana have all blocked similar legislation, but other states like Ohio are unaffected by these decisions.
Healthcare providers who break these rules may consequently face disciplinary actions from their licensing boards.
In Ohio hospitals, young people are not given gender-affirming care without their parents’ or guardian’s consent. The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) both formally oppose government interference in medical practice.
Gender-affirming care, according to the AMA, is “medically necessary, evidence-based care that improves the physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse individuals.”