DeWine is ‘taking a hard, hard look’ at bill that would ban gender-affirming care to trans youth

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday he is taking time to read over testimony for a bill that would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youth and block trans athletes from playing women’s sports. 

The Ohio House and Senate passed House Bill 68, sending the bill to DeWine’s desk for him to either sign into law or veto. 

“I’m taking a hard, hard look at this,” DeWine told reporters Friday. 

DeWine’s office had not yet received the bill as of Friday morning. He will have ten days to sign or veto the bill once his office receives the piece of legislation.  

“We’re not trying to drag it out, but I’m going to spend a lot of time and talk with additional people and look at it again,” he said. “This is a serious issue. People on both sides of this issue, who obviously have very different points of views, I do believe are worried about kids.”

What’s in HB 68?

The bill would prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youth, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. 

It would ban physicians from performing gender reassignment surgery on a minor, but many opponents have testified that no Ohio children’s hospital currently performs gender-affirming surgery on those under 18. 

An amendment to the bill adds a grandfather clause that would allow doctors who already started treatment on patients to continue.

Trans athletes would also be barred from participating in Ohio women’s sports under the bill. 

Currently, if a trans girl wants to play on a team with cis girls in Ohio, she must go through hormone treatments for at least one year or show no physical or physiological advantages, according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Opponents speak out

The Ohio Children’s Hospital Association opposes the bill. 

“We do not perform any surgeries on minors for the condition of gender dysphoria,” Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of the association, said in a statement. “If this bill becomes law, it will be devastating to kids and their families who are already at their most vulnerable and will place an insurmountable barrier between patients and their medical professionals for often lifesaving care.”

Nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary young people attempted suicide in the past year, according to the Trevor Project’s 2023 survey of mental health of LGBTQ youth.

Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is asking DeWine to veto the bill. 

“This harmful legislation was created specifically to silence LGBTQ+ students, push kids back into the closet, and remove spaces for them to be their authentic selves,”  GLSEN’s Executive Director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers said in a statement. 

Lawmakers speak out

The Ohio House Democratic Caucus sent a letter to DeWine Thursday urging him not to sign HB 68 into law. 

“The harmful legislation is nothing more but state-sponsored bullying of trans and gender non-comforming Ohioans,” the letter said. “If this cruel bill which ignores evidence-based science becomes law, we are further normalizing the bigotry facing the transgender and non-binary community, especially in this case of trans youth and their families.” 

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Twitter.