Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has exercised his veto power on House Bill 68, legislation that proposed the prohibition of gender-affirming care for people under 18 and the participation of transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports at high school and college levels. The vetoed bill proposed making it illegal for healthcare professionals to carry out gender reassignment surgery on individuals under 18, prescribe cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to assist with gender transition, or engage in conduct that facilitates these practices. The bill would also have necessitated the designation of high school and collegiate sports teams as male, gender, or co-ed. House Bill 68 seeks to condense and modify the Safe Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act.
In his veto message, DeWine emphasized the importance of life protection and shared the stories of parents who believed their children’s lives had been saved due to the treatment they received from Ohio children’s hospitals. He also highlighted the struggles and emotional turmoil experienced by many young people during their gender transition journey.
Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, also issued a response to the veto, emphasizing that it is crucial for decisions regarding minors’ healthcare to remain between parents, children, and their doctors, and that politicians should not intervene.
According to Article II Section 16 of the Ohio Constitution, any vetoed bill will be sent back to the legislative house where it originated. It will require a three-fifths vote to repass the bill and send it to the other house, which also needs another similar vote to repass the bill. Upon successful repassing from both houses, the bill becomes law without the governor’s approval.
Notably, other states that have successfully banned gender-affirming care for minors have faced litigation. Among them, a federal judge in Alabama recently declined to pause a challenge to an Alabama law that criminalized gender-affirming care for minors. Moreover, in October, Oklahoma’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors was allowed to take effect by a federal judge.