Ohio Republican lawmaker: Nationwide Children's Hospital website is a few clicks from porn

Is there porn closely linked to Nationwide Children's Hospital? Republican Rep. Gary Click seems to think so.

Click's claim happened during a committee discussion of House Bill 454. The bill, if passed, would ban the use of puberty blockers, hormones and gender reassignment surgery for children under the age of 18.

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A panel of Ohio children's hospital representatives testified to their experience with gender-affirming care. Click, R-Vickery, asked the panel about a link between the Nationwide Children's Hospital's website and what he called a pornographic website.

"Nationwide Children's Hospital hosts only content intended for the pediatric audiences we serve," spokeswoman Katelyn Scott said in a statement. The hospital is reviewing its resource listings.

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How many clicks does it take to get to hardcore pornography?

Last week, Click directed his questions to Dr. David Axelson, chief of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

"What role does providing hardcore pornography to your teenagers, aged 13 and above, play in providing resources?" Click asked. "And how many clicks does it take to get from your page to hardcore pornography videos?"

Axelson stumbled in answering before saying he was confused by the representative's question. Rep. Susan Manchester, the committee chairwoman, stepped in asking Click to clarify his question.

Click said he had screenshots of Nationwide Hospital's homepage that described its link to a "hardcore pornography" website. He provided the chair of the committee copies to hand out to the members of the committee.

Click said it only took three to five clicks to get from the hospital's gender affirmation page to the pornography website.

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"You talked about standards of care, medical evidence, recommendations, screening and all of this," Click said. "I just don't see what value this has for a 13-year-old with gender dysphoria. And I trust that as the director, you could explain that to me."

"Yeah, we do not sanction use of hardcore pornography in any of our work," Axelson replied. "I can't say how folks can utilize the internet clicking to different things, but I can assure you that our website does not host hardcore pornography."

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A page on the hospital's website's previously linked to Mozaic, a wellness program for transgender and nonbinary people. On Mozaic's resource page, there is a link to a website that sells adult toys and movies, along with gender-affirming garments for transgender people.

As of Thursday, the link to Mozaic was no longer on the hospital's website.

Manchester reminded Click to inform her of documents to be handed out to the committee before the committee session begins. She also said it would be helpful for Click to ask questions relating to Axelson's testimony.

"As you may understand, we don't have the website in front of us so these allegations are difficult to ascertain," Manchester said.

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Later, Rep. Daniel Troy, D-Willowick, said he was disappointed by Click's questioning and didn't understand why it had been asked.

"I suppose I go onto the internet and I click on Donald Trump, I'm probably two or three away from Stormy Daniels," Troy said. "I don't know where this stuff is going to take me."

Daniels is an adult film star who recently battled in court with Trump in a defamation case.

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The room erupted in both laughter and applause before Manchester called for order and moved on to the next representative's questions.

The exchange wasn't brought up again during the committee session, but Click later posted on Twitter about Troy's comments.

Click linked a clip of Troy, writing that he was motivated by a sense of duty to protect children. Click continued that he was shocked at "how defensive people get when you shed light on what they are actually and factually doing."

Click found the connection in his research of the bill and into the hospital. He said it was sad to hear that Troy's comments and that he was disappointed to find the link was still on the hospital's website.

"These kids are going through enough in this life as it is," Click said.

What's in House Bill 454?

The bill, called the "Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act," was originally introduced to the committee in October 2021. Click is one of the primary sponsors for the bill.

The proposal hasn't been passed by either the House or the Senate. Supporters of the bill say that it will prevent minors from making hasty decisions that could impact their futures.

But opponents say if passed, banning the treatment would be unconstitutional and unethical, and could limit the resources available to teens with gender dysphoria.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Republican: Nationwide Children's Hospital website linked to porn