Ohio Legislature Bans Gender Affirming Care, Overriding Republican Governor’s Veto

Ohio’s transgender children will be unable to obtain gender-affirming medical care after all, now that the Ohio Senate has voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R-OH) veto on the issue by a vote of 23-9.

Last month, DeWine shocked Republicans by vetoing Ohio House Bill 68, which would have prevented minors from receiving transgender medical care. The bill also forbade transgender girls from competing in school sports.

DeWine gave an impassioned statement last month, saying only families and doctors should make those life-altering decisions with their children:

The decisions that parents are making are not easy decisions. These tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government. They should not be made by the state of Ohio. They should be made by the people who love these kids the most. And that’s the parents, the parents who raised the child, the parents who have seen that child go through agony.

The Ohio House voted to override DeWine’s veto on Jan. 10, and now the state senate has joined them.

According to ABC News:

The bill restricts the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries for transgender youth. The bill does not restrict the use of this care on non-transgender youth, and specifically includes an exception for intersex youth with ambiguous or abnormal sex characteristics.

A grandfather clause allows transgender people already receiving care to continue doing so.

ABC reported that gender-affirming care has been called “safe and effective by more than 20 major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.”

Under this law, doctors who provide any gender-affirming medical care for Ohio’s trans youth would be “subject to discipline by the applicable professional licensing board.”

Read more about the veto override here.