Ohio lawmakers override governor’s veto of bill to protect children from transgender procedures

The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate on Wednesday voted to allow Ohio House Bill 68 to take effect. The measure will protect minors from receiving so-called “sex change” surgeries, as well as hormone therapies and puberty blockers. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed the bill in late December, saying at the time that the decision to pursue surgeries and other transgender procedures should be up to the parents and healthcare professionals. The state House on Jan. 10 voted to override his veto. DeWine earlier this month signed an executive order banning transgender surgeries for minors.

What else is included in the law? The measure also requires children in the state to compete on sports teams that correspond to their biological sex. Currently, the Ohio High School Athletic Association allows boys to play on girls’ teams if they have taken cross-sex hormones for at least one year. The new law includes a grandfather clause to allow people to continue receiving transgender medical interventions if they started before the law took effect.

Dig deeper: Read Juliana Chan Erikson’s report in Relations about a controversial psychiatric textbook about gender.