Ohio lawmakers override governor's veto to ban gender-affirming care for minors

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Ohio's state Senate voted Wednesday to override Gov. Mike DeWine's veto of a bill that restricts gender-affirming health care for minors and bans transgender women and girls from competing in female athletic events.

Lawmakers voted 23 to 9 to override the Republican governor's veto, after Ohio's state House voted to override his veto earlier this month. The new law will go into effect in 90 days.

House Bill 68, also called the SAFE Act, prohibits doctors from prescribing hormones, puberty blockers or performing gender reassignment surgery on patients younger than 18. It also bans transgender girls and women from playing on female high school and college athletic teams.

Last month, DeWine went against the GOP-led legislature when he vetoed the bill after visiting children's hospitals and speaking to families.

"Were I to sign House Bill 68, or were House Bill 68 to become law, 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."

"Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life," DeWine said in January. "Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived -- would be dead today -- if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio's children's hospitals."

On Jan. 5, DeWine signed an executive order, banning gender reassignment surgeries for minors, which doctors in the state say were never performed on patients younger than 18.

While DeWine has not commented on the bill's restrictions on transgender student-athletes, he has said he believes the issue is "best addressed outside of government."

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, issued a statement Wednesday calling the vote to override DeWine's veto of HB 68 "shameful."

"These legislators have abdicated their responsibility to do what's right for the Ohioans they represent, casting votes that they know full well will harm innocent children, all to appease the leader of the MAGA agenda," Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in the statement.

"Despite the fact that they have no medical training, these politicians believe they know better than parents and transgender youth seeking health care. It's shameful."

Ohio State Rep. Gary Click, a Republican who sponsored the bill, applauded the override and called HB 68 the "civil rights issue of our day."

"While the passage of HB 68 is a milestone for Ohio and the nation, there is still more to be accomplished. Women and children deserve the greatest protections on the national level. We must ensure that all individuals who experience regret have full access to both medical and mental health resources as they realign with their authentic selves," Click said in a statement Wednesday.

Nearly two dozen states have implemented similar restrictions on access to gender-affirming care, as other states have faced legal challenges.

In June, a federal judge struck down the country's first state ban on gender-affirming care for minors in Arkansas, calling the law unconstitutional.

Judges have blocked similar gender-affirming restrictions in Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Montana and Texas.