Ohio House expected to override Gov. DeWine's veto of trans athlete, healthcare bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio House is expected on Wednesday to override Gov. Mike DeWine's veto of a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes' participation in women's sports.

The House is convening at 2 p.m. Wednesday to reverse DeWine's veto of House Bill 68, legislation to prohibit Ohio's children's hospitals from providing treatment like gender-reassignment surgery and hormone therapy to trans minors. The measure also revokes the Ohio High School Athletic Association's trans student-athlete policy and bars trans students from taking part in female athletics.

A legislative supermajority, three-fifths of both the House and Senate, is required to overcome a governor's veto. H.B. 68 itself passed with 62 votes in the House and 24 votes in the Senate, theoretically positioning it to overcome the 59 House and 20 Senate votes needed to override. Senate President Matt Huffman said should the House succeed, the Senate is likely to follow suit on Jan. 24. 

DeWine said he made his decision to veto after visiting several children's hospitals and listening to those on both sides of the argument who "sincerely and truly believe their position best protects children." Ultimately, the governor said he could not support a measure that bans healthcare deemed life-saving by patients and families.

"These tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government. They should not be made by the state of Ohio," DeWine said during a Dec. 29 news conference. "They should be made by the people who love these kids the most, and that's the parents. The parents who have raised that child, the parents who have seen that child go through agony."

The governor immediately faced a wave of criticism from notable Republicans who support the Statehouse in overriding his veto, including from former President Donald Trump, who wrote in a Truth Social post that DeWine "has fallen to the Radical Left."

"I'm finished with this 'stiff.' What was he thinking," wrote Trump in the Dec. 30 post. "The bill would have stopped child mutilation, and prevented men from playing in women's sports. Legislature will hopefully overturn."

Rep. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) said he believes DeWine's decision was not "adequately thought through" and that the governor is not "thinking about the protection of our young people."

"He's the executive branch, but that doesn't mean you’re the king or the emperor," said Bird on Dec. 29. "Despite the governor's poor decision today, I believe that we will override him in the month of January."

However, Senate Democratic Leader Nickie Antonio, the first openly gay person to serve in the Ohio General Assembly, applauded the governor for "exercising due diligence and discernment in making the decision to veto."

"Parents should have the right to make important physical and mental health care decisions for their children," said Antonio in a statement. "The fight for LGBTQ+ equal rights will continue until all may enjoy the freedom to live their authentic lives without government interference."

'A de facto ban' on transgender care

DeWine attempted to assuage the backlash from his party by signing an executive order on Jan. 5 to bar Ohioans from receiving gender transition surgery until they're 18. While the Ohio Children's Hospital Association previously testified that the state's children's hospitals "do not perform any surgeries on minors for the condition of gender dysphoria," DeWine said the order is necessary because there is a "broad consensus against surgeries for minors."

"This will ensure that surgeries of this type can never happen in Ohio," said DeWine, arguing that the executive order takes the issue "off the table."

However, Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), the primary sponsor of H.B. 68, said the governor's administrative orders "are no substitute for solid legislation." Click said it was inappropriate for DeWine to "discard the hard and deliberative process of the General Assembly and take ownership of this issue." 

"While I support his efforts as a temporary measure, I cannot accept them as a substitute for [the bill]," Click said. "His suggestion that we take his measures and place them in a bill for his signature was insulting. We fully intend to override the governor's veto beginning on Jan. 10."

DeWine also said on Jan. 5 he has directed the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to propose several other measures that "will provide protections for children and adults receiving care in this area from hospitals and clinics."

The draft rules would ensure that trans minors and adults are not receiving treatment from what the governor called "fly-by-night" clinics. The proposal would also mandate a team for trans individuals seeking care that would include an endocrinologist, a bioethicist and a psychiatrist.

Trans patients also must provide "sufficient informed consent" for gender-affirming care after comprehensive and lengthy mental health counseling, under the proposed measure. For minors, parents also would have to give informed consent. In addition, DeWine is directing the departments to collect data submitted by providers on gender dysphoria and subsequent treatment.

However, the ACLU of Ohio said the governor's proposed restrictions "could amount to a de facto ban on care for transgender youth and adults." The organization argues the measures would prohibit most primary care providers from providing hormone treatments to trans people of any age, enforce a list of cumbersome requirements and threaten to shut down care across the state.

"This is a dangerous escalation and unfounded effort to control Ohioans' bodies, lives, and futures," said the ACLU. "In the interest of protecting transgender people's lives and their fundamental right to self-determination, these radical and life-threatening proposals must not be allowed to move forward."

Equitas Health, one of the largest providers of gender-affirming care in Ohio, said if DeWine's proposed rules go into effect, they would be among the most extreme in the nation. While 22 states have passed age restrictions on gender-affirming care, only Florida has adopted restrictions that attempt to deny care to transgender people of any age.

"These rules suggest licensed healthcare providers in Ohio -- who are frequently trained by Ohio’s own excellent clinical programs -- are incapable of even contemplating our own professional ethical codes, much less referring to colleagues when clinically appropriate," said Dr. Teagan Vaughn, Equitas Health gender-affirming care director.

The organization noted that as recently as December, a federal judge ruled that an Idaho law banning gender-affirming care for minors was unenforceable, citing 14th Amendment rights to equal protection and due process. 

Unlike the executive order, these measures are not in effect immediately, and must go through the rule-making process with several state panels and opportunity for public comment through the next few weeks.

How many minors have received gender-affirming care in Ohio?

Ohio's children’s hospitals have served about 3,300 individuals throughout the past 10 years whose first appointment at a gender clinic took place when they were under the age of 18. The average age at their first appointment was 16 years old. Of those 3,300 individuals, only 7% were prescribed a puberty blocker and only 35% were prescribed hormones.

"While the majority of patients are never prescribed medication as minors, those who do take medication consider it lifesaving and crucial," said Nick Lashutka, Ohio Children's Hospital Association president. "It is a dangerous precedent for government to dictate when medication is appropriate in pediatrics."

Shefali Mahesh from the Department of Pediatrics at Akron Children's Hospital said 0.0015% of the more than 320,000 patients each year are under the care of the institution's multi-disciplinary team in its gender-affirming care clinic.

Sean Miller, a 15-year-old trans Ohioan, testified at the Statehouse that it is "degrading to have to come to the Statehouse and beg my elected officials to treat transgender people like me with basic respect and ask for basic Constitutional rights."

"Laws like this are pushing proud Ohioans like me out of our homes," said Miller. "I want to live in Ohio. But, if I do not have the right to choose to live in a body that fits who I am on the inside, I cannot."

Carey Callahan, a Bainbridge resident, also testified and said they are a detransitioned woman who had to move out of Ohio to access gender-affirming care. Callahan said they have experienced the circumstances trans people often endure, like being belittled and humiliated in medical offices.

"You aren’t protecting children from becoming a 'detransitioner' like me," said Callahan. "You are exiling good people from our state, traumatizing kids and families, and working hard to make Ohio a less safe place to raise kids."

How many trans athletes participate in Ohio sports?

Nineteen trans girls -- 10 in middle school and nine in high school -- have participated in girls’ sports since OHSAA's policy was implemented eight years ago, including the six trans high school students taking part during the 2022-23 school year.

OHSAA, which says about 400,000 athletes in grades 7-12 participate in its sanctioned sports each school year, asserted its policy is effective in protecting the integrity of girls’ sports while also providing participation opportunities for trans students.

The five-page policy states trans athletes "should have equal opportunity to participate in sports" while preserving "the integrity of women’s sports." The document provides a step-by-step process for a trans student to request OHSAA participation. Learn about the OHSAA’s approval process for trans athletes here.

Connor McLaren, a trans Ohio high school student, testified at the Statehouse she goes through the OHSAA approval policy each year to participate in school athletics. McLaren said lawmakers are depriving kids like her the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging when they need it most.

"Playing sports and learning to function with a team, making those connections, and learning how it feels to be part of a group that so genuinely supports you changed my life, and I can't imagine what I would do without it," said McLaren.

Parker, a trans central Ohio high school student whose full name wasn't given when they testified, said they have been playing field hockey their entire life and spoke in support of OHSAA's current policy. Parker accused lawmakers of only "following on the bandwagon" of the previous states banning trans athletes.

"It is evident that you are not saving women's sports," said Parker. "We already have policies in place by the OHSAA that have worked for years. Don't take the opportunity for trans youth like me to play as their full authentic self."