Republicans, who hold a supermajority in Congress, could override DeWine’s veto and push back.
“This bill will impact a very small number of children in Ohio. But for children facing gender dysphoria, the impact of this bill could not be more severe. At the end of the day, I believe this is about saving lives,” DeWine said Friday at a news conference announcing the decision. “Many parents have told me that if they hadn’t received the care they received at Children’s Hospital of Ohio, their children would not have survived and would be dead today.”
“These are frustrating decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by a team of doctors advising them,” DeWine continued. “If I were to sign House Bill 68, or if House Bill 68 were to become law, the state of Ohio, the government, would be more concerned about what is medically best for the child than the two people who love the child the most. You’re saying you know your parents very well.”
Hundreds of anti-trans bills are moving through dozens of state legislatures across the country. Nearly half of the states in the United States, including those bordering Ohio, have passed laws targeting transgender people. Many of these bills ban gender-affirming care for minors and limit transgender girls’ participation in school athletics. DeWine said Ohio’s bill does not consider that provision.
Ohio’s Saving Youth from Experimentation (SAFE Act) would ban hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and gender reassignment surgery for people under 18. The measure would also ban transgender girls from playing in high schools and on sports teams designated for girls. college, This is known as the “Women’s Sports Preservation Act”. Its sponsor, state Rep. Gary Click (R), said the measure is not about “culture wars” but “medical ethics.”
Mr. Click’s office told the Washington Post that if a veto were to occur, he would ask Congress to override the veto.
While vetoing the bill, DeWine directed his administration to begin developing executive regulations on this issue “to establish important protections for Ohio’s children and Ohio adults.” He said that This is expected to avoid overriding the veto, he said.
Ohio lawmakers sent the bill to DeWine this month. A heated debate between members of the Diet. Supporters argued the measure focused on children’s well-being. Opponents argued that the bill was not backed by science and could potentially do more harm than good.
Hundreds of people testified during public hearings on the bill this year, and 87 at a state Senate committee hearing in early December that lasted more than 11 p.m. The majority opposed the bill, and many who supported the ban flew in from the United States to attend. Testify from out of state.
The bill passed 24-8 in the Ohio Senate and 61-27 in the House, along near party-line lines in the Republican-controlled chamber, joining more than two dozen states that have passed similar regulations in the past two years. Joined the.
Ohio resident Rick Colby broke with party lines in May and testified against the bill as a Republican. Colby, who told the Post this week that his adult son is transgender and receives gender-affirming care in the state, called the bill “horror,” and said it would raise concerns about transgender children among Ohioans. He added that this suggests that there is a disparity in the ability to raise children. .
Minors already in gender-affirming care were allowed to continue, but other parents “will be criminals if they seek care for their children after the bill goes into effect. That’s crazy,” Colby said. Instead, he suggested that the governor consider establishing a commission to investigate the issue. “This is not like a partisan issue here. This is beyond politics. … Get all the right people together, even parents and supporters of the bill. And then have a public meeting. Open it, please.”
DeWine announced new executive regulations to ban gender-affirming care surgeries for minors and to prevent “pop-up clinics” and “flying night surgeries” that provide poor quality care. He said that he aims to impose. He said relevant agencies will start collecting data.
Mr. DeWine had refused to take a position on the bill until it reached his desk. For about two weeks, the governor consulted with various factions, including families of transgender youth.
Kelly Murray, an Ohio resident and opponent of the bill who has a transgender daughter, said she met with DeWine this week.
“Governor DeWine called me on Christmas Eve and asked me to meet him. He invited my family to his home in Cedarville. He met Allison and told me about our trip. I wanted to ask you about it,” Marie posted on Facebook. “As always, Alison told her story from her heart. She doesn’t hesitate to share her darkest times. Mike and I shared our fears, lack of understanding, and how this is Alison We talked about the process of understanding what was true.”
“We thanked him for his leadership during the pandemic. For turning to medicine and science to save lives. And we’re asking him to do it again.” continued Marie.
States across the country are embroiled in battles over these laws.
Nick Zingarelli moved his family from Missouri to Ohio in part because of the state’s gender-affirming care law. Zingarelli’s 14-year-old daughter is transgender and is currently being cared for in Ohio.
Zingarelli hopes the Republican governor’s veto will cause some members of his party to change their votes and prevent the bill’s sponsors from overriding DeWine.
“We are very appreciative of the grandfather clause that protects us. [my daughter’s] Right to access care. But what about other children at different stages of their journey? ” He said.
“What happens to children who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria but are not yet at the stage where medical intervention is appropriate? [would have been] It was eliminated as an option for them. What happens to the children who seek medical care here because they don’t have access to it where they live? ”
This summer, despite a ruling by a Travis County District Court judge, a Texas law banning medical gender transition for young people will go into effect, forcing health care providers to offer them treatments such as puberty blockers and hormones. That was prohibited. Many states with Republican majorities, such as Missouri, have focused their legislatures on transgender-related issues.
The issue could eventually reach the country’s highest court. Last month, transgender youth, their families and health care providers asked the Supreme Court to block a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors. If the high court takes up the case, it would be the first time the justices have to consider such restrictions, the Post reported.
Casey Parks contributed to this report.