Ohio Bans Gender-Affirming Care For Minors, Limits Access For Adults

The State Senate of Ohio has banned gender-affirming care for minors, overriding the governor’s veto. They have also announced a string of new policies which target access to transgender healthcare for adults.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine had previously vetoed a minors’ transgender healthcare ban while making plans to ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors despite such surgeries being rare or even nonexistent in the state. However, in a 24-8 vote, the state Senate overturned DeWine’s veto on H.B. 68 on Wednesday. This bill, ironically referred to as the “Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act,” bans all forms of gender-affirming care for minors in Ohio, including hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. It also requires all schools up to the collegiate level to distinguish separate sports teams based on sex, essentially banning transgender athletes from competing in alignment with their gender identity.

Ohio has had a tumultuous past with LGBTQ+ rights. It was the location of multiple neo-Nazi attacks on queer events last year, and the Republican-dominated state government has pushing an anti-trans agenda for years. Now, with H.B. 68 passed, it looks like Ohio legislators are looking to expand their restrictions even further.

One week after DeWine vetoed the bill for minors, he announced slew of policies affecting adult healthcare. These new rules require a whole team of people involved in order to access gender-affirming care, “including but not limited to an endocrinologist, a bioethicist and a psychiatrist.” Patients as old as 21 would also need at least six months of counseling before starting any sort of hormone medication or surgery. State transgender policies affecting adults are quite rare in the United States, but this sets a dangerous precedent.

DeWine claims that these new policies are meant to “ensure that adults, as well as children, are protected” from improper healthcare. However, the restrictions will only serve to make life much harder for transgender people and block hundreds of individuals from receiving the care they need. Hormone therapy is already proven to be safe. Having additional requirements for adults and straight up banning gender-affirming care for minors can only harm transgender patients.