Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued an emergency order to ban gender-transition surgeries for minors, a move that failed to derail Republican legislators determined to overturn his veto of a sweeping transgender bill.
Mr. DeWine, a Republican, announced Friday that he had signed an emergency executive order to prevent Ohio hospitals from performing gender-change operations on those under 18, one of the provisions in House Bill 68, the measure he vetoed last week.
“I think it’s a good way to take this issue off the table and assure everyone that there are not surgeries going on with minors,” said Mr. DeWine at a Friday press conference. “Let’s put that into a law so we can move on.”
Mr. DeWine also said he has drafted administrative rules to require a “multi-disciplinary team” to treat transgender individuals; collect data on the number of patients being treated for gender dysphoria, and boost informed-consent requirements for parents that include the risks of treatment.
His executive order failed to budge Republican lawmakers determined to overturn his Dec. 29 veto of the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation Act, which also bars puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones from minors seeking to switch their gender identity.
In addition, the bill requires students to compete in single-sex scholastic sports based on sex, not gender identity.
“There is an opportunity to enhance the provisions of the SAFE Act; however, there is no appetite for replacing the SAFE Act through a bureaucratic process,” said Republican state Rep. Gary Click, the bill’s sponsor, in a Friday statement. “We fully intend to override the governor’s veto beginning on January 10.”
Republican state Rep. Adam Bird said that the governor’s announcement “should not change the will of the Ohio House to override his veto.”
“Executive orders do not carry the same weight as the Ohio Revised Code. EO’s can be changed at any time. Ohio needs to protect adolescents and female athletes,” said Mr. Bird on X.
The House plans to return Jan. 10 for an anticipated override vote. The Senate is expected to come back into session Jan. 24. Both chambers have veto-proof Republican majorities.
“We’ve got the votes — time to overrule the Governor’s veto!” Republican state Rep. Angie King said Tuesday on X.
Senate President Matt Huffman said Friday it was unclear whether the governor has the authority to prohibit gender-transition surgeries for minors via executive order.
“I don’t know that the governor’s executive order will be enforceable. Somebody will probably file a lawsuit—maybe the children’s hospitals will file a lawsuit and say, ‘Hey, you can’t do that.’ Who knows?” said Mr. Huffman on his podcast. “Or Planned Parenthood, or one of the groups that financially benefit from these things. That’s why it’s important for us to make it part of the law, make it clear to everybody.”
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union launched a campaign to counter the veto override, urging voters to contact their representatives and vote “no.”
“Trans kids deserve the world,” said Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. “Next week, the Ohio House is returning early to vote to override Gov. DeWine’s veto of HB 68. It’s time to act and protect trans youth.”
Parental Rights? Huh? Who is circumventing parents? Oh, it’s the hospitals. Who would have guessed? THE #SAFEAct will protect parents right to participate in their child’s care! #HB68 https://t.co/LPxOnPL1YF
— Rep Gary Click (@clickforohio) January 5, 2024
Mr. Click and others flagged a video released Friday by the Daily Wire that showed doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital on a virtual training session discussing ways to treat children who identify as transgender with medication without telling parents.
“We can refer a child for therapy without the parent knowing that the kid told us they’re transgender if they’re having significant anxiety and depression,” said Dr. Lee Ann Conard on the video. “The other thing is menstrual suppression. So a lot of our patients do end up having increased mental-health issues around the time of their period, so a lot of times we’ll try to help stop periods.”
Mr. DeWine has argued that parental rights should prevail when it comes to medical treatment for their children, but Mr. Huffman said that the governor contradicted himself with his order banning gender-change surgeries for minors.
“If your reason for vetoing this is that parents make the best decision for their children, why aren’t you, governor, letting parents make the decision about surgeries? Because it has to do with their child,” said Mr. Huffman. “And the answer is, we need to protect that child.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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