Ohio House votes to overturn governor’s veto of transgender health care ban, athlete restrictions

The Ohio House voted Wednesday to overturn Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and prevents transgender women and girls from competing on female school sports teams.

The lower chamber voted 65-28 to overturn DeWine’s veto of House Bill 68, along party lines.

“I think most people here have good intentions. I believe our governor has good intentions.  However, good intentions do not save lives or protect women — good policy does,” said Ohio Republican Rep. Gary Click, the bill’s primary sponsor.

House Democrats on Wednesday condemned the body’s vote and accused Republicans of ignoring medical evidence in support of gender-affirming care and the testimony of those who spoke out against the bill.

“Why? Because your Google search makes your knowledge equal to my 30 plus years in medicine?” said state Rep. Anita Somani, a Democrat and OB-GYN in central Ohio. Before she was elected to the Ohio House in 2022, Somani testified against iterations of House Bill 68, called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

“What we’re doing is moving people backwards; we are restricting people’s rights; we are taking away health care,” Somani said Wednesday. “Listening to my colleagues here speak, I’m angry, I’m frustrated and I’m disappointed.”

LGBTQ advocates, medical professionals and families of transgender children have largely argued against the passage of House Bill 68. More than 600 people testified against the measure during public hearings last year, according to local media.

DeWine vetoed the bill on Dec. 29, telling reporters during a press conference that such a measure, if allowed to become law, would do more harm than good.

“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life,” DeWine said. “Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived — would be dead today — if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals.”

DeWine on several occasions has declined to say whether he supports House Bill 68’s restrictions on transgender student athletes. In a 2021 statement, DeWine said he believes the issue is “best addressed outside of government.”

Gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and adults is considered safe, effective and medically necessary by every major medical organization, although not every trans person chooses to medically transition or has access to care.

Medications including puberty blockers and hormones are not recommended for children who have not begun puberty, according to guidelines set by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society, and most surgeries are reserved for adults over 18.

DeWine is only the second Republican governor to veto a proposed ban on gender-affirming care; the first was former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who is campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination.

Hutchinson’s 2021 veto was also swiftly overturned by the state’s GOP-controlled legislature. In June, a federal judge struck down the law as unconstitutional.

Two other Republican governors have vetoed transgender athlete bans — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The Ohio Senate, where Republicans also have a supermajority, is expected to vote on whether to override DeWine’s veto when the upper chamber reconvenes on Jan. 24.

If an override attempt is successful, Ohio will be the 23rd state to heavily restrict or ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, and the first to do so this year. It will join 23 other GOP-led states in prohibiting transgender athletes from participating on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Outside the legislature, access to gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and adults in Ohio will be restricted under administrative rules filed this month by the state Health Department.

An executive order signed Jan. 5 by DeWine prohibits gender-affirming surgeries for minors.