Ohio loosens proposed regulations on transgender medical interventions

The Ohio Health Department on Wednesday revised a proposed set of rules that were created to protect young people in the state from hormone therapies and transgender surgeries. Under the original proposal, anyone under age 21 who identifies as transgender would have been required to undergo at least six months of counseling before starting any medical interventions. Thousands of people submitted comments to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services concerning the proposed regulations. This week, the state health department revised the rules to apply only to patients under 18.

Were other changes made? The new proposed rules no longer require clinics and hospitals to consult medical ethicists when creating facility-wide intervention plans. According to the original proposal, facilities would still need to consult psychiatrists and endocrinologists. The state’s Common Sense Initiative and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review will review the new proposal before the regulations take effect.

What other protections are in place in Ohio? A new law will take effect in the state in April that protects children from receiving transgender surgeries, hormone therapies, and puberty blockers. Last month, the Ohio legislature voted to override Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of the measure. At least 20 states have approved similar laws.

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