Gov. DeWine signs order to ban gender transition surgeries on transgender minors

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order on Friday to ban Ohio’s medical professionals from performing gender transition surgery on transgender youth.

DeWine’s directive on Friday came one week after he vetoed House Bill 68, the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation” and the “Save Women’s Sports” acts. The legislation would bar medical professionals from providing treatment known as gender-affirming care, like puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy, to trans children in the state.

“A week has gone by, and I still feel just as firmly as I did that day,” said DeWine. “I believe that parents, not the government should be making these very crucial medical decisions for the children.”

Still, the governor said on a Friday a ban on gender transition surgery is the exception because there is a “broad consensus against surgeries for minors.” Nick Lashutka, Ohio Children’s Hospital Association president, previously testified the state’s children’s hospitals “do not perform any surgeries on minors for the condition of gender dysphoria.”

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DeWine also announced on Friday that Ohio’s Department of Health and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will be proposing several draft rules that “will provide protections for children and adults receiving care in this area from hospitals and clinics,” including the following:

• Requirement of a multi-disciplinary team to support a patient through gender transition care.

• Requirement of a comprehensive care plan that includes sufficient informed consent from parents of the risk associated with gender transition treatment.

• Requirement of comprehensive and lengthy mental health counseling prior to being considered for gender transition treatment.

DeWine said these proposed rules would prevent “fly-by-night” clinics that allegedly don’t provide adequate mental health counseling. The governor noted he is not away of any complaints filed with the Ohio Medical Board over pop-up clinics, but said he wants to emphasize mental health counseling before receiving treatment.

“As I spent time looking at this and listening to people, it’s clear that the most important part is the mental health counseling,” DeWine said. “It needs to be lengthy, and it needs to be comprehensive.”

In addition, the DeWine administration is proposing rules that, once in effect, will require Ohio’s healthcare providers to report data that will be shared at an aggregate level on cases of gender dysphoria. Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) said statewide data would “be effective towards future legislative actions,” but argued DeWine’s actions fall short and don’t “cover a lot of what’s in House Bill 68.”

“We’re encouraged to hear that he wants to do some things, but the idea that he wouldn’t confirm that surgeries are being performed on minors in the state of Ohio is absurd,” said Williams.

The governor reiterated on Friday his opposition to H.B. 68 and argued that, if the bill were to become law, “Ohio would be saying that the government knows best, knows better than parents about their own child’s health.”

H.B. 68 was vetoed by DeWine on Dec. 29 after the Statehouse passed the legislation on Dec. 13. The measure could still go into effect given a three-fifths vote in Ohio’s House of Representatives and Senate would override the governor’s veto.

Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), the primary sponsor of H.B. 68, also spoke out against the proposals and said DeWine’s orders should not replace the SAFE and Save Women’s Sports acts.

“I think [DeWine’s] intentions are good but it takes more than good intentions, it takes good policy to save young people,” said Click. “He’s the government just as much as we are, so he says he wants to keep the government out of this and then he’s writing executive orders.”

In addition to barring gender-affirming care, lawmakers amended H.B. 68 to include House Bill 6 to prohibit trans girls from taking part in female athletics and override the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s trans student-athlete policy. H.B. 68 allows an athlete to sue for relief or damages if they are “deprived” of an athletic opportunity by a trans girl.

“Let’s not forget, the Save Women’s Sports [act] is being put on the back burner in all of this, women deserve their equality, they deserve their privacy, ,they deserve their safety in the sports area and that’s all been put on hold becaus of the veto,” said Click.

Those in favor of H.B. 68 have argued Ohioans under age 18 are incapable of providing the informed consent necessary to make the decisions to receive gender transition care, including Speaker of the Ohio House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) who said he is disappointed the governor rejected the legislation.

“The bill sponsors, and The House, have dedicated nearly three years to get the bill right — to empower parents and protect children,” said Stephens in a statement. “It was passed by veto-proof majorities in each chamber. We will certainly discuss as a caucus and take the appropriate next steps.”

Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) called the measure “discriminatory” and said the veto is “a much needed sign of support for Ohio’s LGBTQ+ children and the community overall.”

“I appreciate that Governor DeWine took his time to listen to the individuals most impacted by this discriminatory legislation,” said Russo. “It sends a much needed message of support to Ohio’s LGBTQ+ youth that they and their families are seen and heard and deserve the fundamental freedom like everyone else to feel safe in their own communities.”

A similar measure in Idaho was rejected on Thursday by a federal judge who ruled that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process give parents the right to get gender-affirming care for their children.

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