Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine’s administration renounced its plans on Wednesday to enact regulations that, in the opinion of advocates, would have limited gender-affirming health care for adults in a way that no other state has.
The guidelines put forth by two state agencies would have mandated that psychologists, endocrinologists, and medical ethicists play a part in developing gender-affirming maintenance plans for clinics and hospitals. Before beginning hormone therapy or receiving gender-affirming surgery, patients under the age of 21 would have had to undergo at least six months of counseling.
Following public input, the Departments of Health and Mental Health, Addiction Services, and Health both released revised proposals on Wednesday. Both claimed in notes that as transgender persons and care providers weighed in, they were moved by what they had learned. The Health Department reported receiving 3,900 responses. The rules may only apply to the treatment of minors in the new versions, not adults.
The government was requesting “administrative rules where there was consensus,” according to a statement from DeWine’s office.
According to the statement, “Governor DeWine has been focused on protecting children throughout this conversation.” “While taking into account the public comments made by the authorities, the changes reflect his attention to these priorities.”
21 states have passed legislation recently outlawing at least some aspects of gender-affirming treatment for minors. Some are so new that they haven’t yet gone into effect, and an Arkansas ban was overturned in court. However, adult treatment has only been limited in Florida thus far.
The Ohio agencies announced that the rules would then go through the final review stage before being put into effect.
Before receiving gender-affirming treatments or surgeries, patients under the age of 18 must also complete at least six months of mental health counseling, according to the revised rules. Clinical nurses, social workers, school therapists, and some doctors were added to the list of mental health professionals who are qualified to provide the necessary guidance as a result of the adjustments made on Wednesday.
Additionally, it would no longer be necessary for a clinical ethicist to contribute to the creation of facility-wide treatment programs for the treatment. The Health Department stated in a memo that the change was made in part because institutions now use health ethics experts to create policies.
Some of the guidelines for providing care for adolescents might not be as clear-cut. By overriding DeWine’s December veto of that measure last month, which would have allowed children currently receiving treatment to remain, the Legislature outlawed gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments for minors.
April will see the implementation of that legislation.
