Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed a bill addressing transgender youth that legislators passed, but he says he has good reasons. Ohio House Bill 68 contained two acts.
The Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act would have forbidden medical professionals from administering puberty blockers and offering hormones to minors. DeWine said it all came down to whose job it was to make the decision. According to the Governor, if he okayed the act, “Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most, their parents.” The Governor said the decision came after speaking to doctors at hospitals around the state.
DeWine has ordered his staff to write legislation banning gender surgeries on minors and to collect data to make sure facilities provide adequate mental health treatment to minors.
Those in favor of the measure argue that children are too young to make the decision and that no long-term studies are showing the benefit to children who receive surgical and hormone intervention as opposed to mental health treatment.
The Save Women’s Sports Act would have forbidden children who were born biologically male from competing in girls’ sports. This would override the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s policy. Governor DeWine had previously said that establishing policies regarding transgender athletes was the job of OHSA and not the legislature.
