Ohio House overrides DeWine veto of transgender health care, athlete bill

The Ohio House voted Wednesday to override Gov. Mike DeWine's veto of legislation that would restrict medical care for transgender minors and block transgender girls from female sports.

House Bill 68, which DeWine struck down last month, would prevent doctors from prescribing hormones, puberty blockers or gender transition surgery before patients turn 18. It also would prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams in high school and college.

Proponents say the measure would protect children and level the playing field for female athletes, but critics contend it'd harm an already vulnerable group of Ohioans. In vetoing the bill, DeWine said decisions about transgender medical care should be left to families and their physicians.

More: Ohio lawmaker compares gender dysphoria in kids to thoughts of being a bird

The House voted 65-28 to override DeWine's veto after an emotional debate, with Republicans supporting it and Democrats voting no.

“We need to ensure that we are able to protect our children," Rep. Tracy Richardson, R-Marysville, said. "We want them to have the chance to grow up before making decisions to permanently change their bodies, changes that will impact them forever."

Opinion: Ohio GOP didn't overturn DeWine's HB 68 veto to protect kids. They did it out of hate and fear.

Betty Elswick of Marysville traveled to Columbus on Wednesday to protest the vote with her 16-year-old son, Parker, who has been receiving hormone therapy for four months. Elswick said the family will likely leave Ohio if House Bill 68 becomes law so Parker can access the health care he needs.

"If this gets passed through, it's going to kill kids," Parker Elswick said.

DeWine stood by his veto after the House vote.

"I continue to believe it is in the best interests of children for these medical decisions to be made by the child’s parents and not by the government," DeWine said in a statement on Wednesday.

DeWine proposes rules on transgender health care

The override came less than a week after DeWine signed an executive order banning Ohio hospitals and surgical facilities from performing gender transition surgery on minors. His administration also proposed rules to collect data on transgender medical care and regulate the treatment of Ohioans with gender dysphoria.

The governor has said little about the provision to bar transgender girls from female sports. Seven transgender girls were approved to play girls' high school sports in Ohio for the 2023-24 school year, according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

DeWine's proposed rule for transition care is setting off alarm bells for transgender Ohioans and their advocates. To prevent what he called "fly-by-night" clinics, providers must have a "contractual relationship" with a psychiatrist and endocrinologist to treat gender dysphoria. They would also be required to create a written, comprehensive care plan that's reviewed by a medical ethicist.

Patients under 21 would have to undergo six months of counseling before further treatment occurs.

"When Gov. DeWine first vetoed the bill, I felt for the first time that someone actually listened to some of the voices that have been screaming for years," said Minna Zelch, whose daughter Ember is transgender. "Then with the new rules that were put out, we're very concerned as well. Those rules impact my child, too, who we thought was safe because she’s been a legal adult for a while now."

Ember Zelch, 19, played high school sports in Ohio and now attends college out-of-state. She had been returning home for medical care, but Minna Zelch said the family will find a provider near her school if the rules take effect.

Members of the public have until Jan. 19 to comment on the proposed treatment rule and Feb. 5 to submit feedback on data collection. But DeWine's administrative efforts didn't deter Republican lawmakers from pursuing an override. The Senate is expected to follow the House's action on Jan. 24.

"The governor is saying two different things at the same time: This should be up to the parents, except I'm going to take away the parents' right to make this decision," Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said in a podcast. "It's clearly a conflict with what he's arguing."

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio House overrides Mike DeWine veto of House Bill 68