Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed a bill that aimed to restrict transition-related care for minors and transgender girls’ participation on school sports teams. This makes DeWine one of only two Republican governors to oppose a restriction on gender-affirming care and one of three Republican governors to veto a trans athlete bill.
DeWine made the announcement during a press conference on Friday, calling the decision “gut-wrenching.” He stated that the decision about whether minors should have access to gender-affirming care should be made by parents and doctors and not the state of Ohio. DeWine’s veto is a critical step for transgender rights advocates, who have been fighting against the bill that would have made it illegal for doctors to provide gender-affirming medical care to transgender youth.
Before vetoing the measure, DeWine visited three Ohio children’s hospitals to learn more about transition-related care and spoke with families who were both helped and harmed by it. He stated that his primary goal was to get it right as they were dealing with children going through a challenging time as well as families undergoing a difficult period.
DeWine’s decision followed weeks of strong lobbying and heated debate over the bill. State Rep. Gary Click, a Republican and the primary sponsor of the bill, claimed that minors were incapable of providing informed consent for far-reaching and life-altering decisions about their healthcare. However, DeWine’s position was that the decision should rest with parents and professionals and not with the legislature.
The Ohio General Assembly, which is controlled by a Republican supermajority, has the power to override the governor’s veto with a three-fifths majority vote. Despite this hurdle, the governor’s veto is seen as a victory for advocates of transgender rights who are pleased to hear that DeWine stood up for families and their well-being.
The governor’s veto puts Ohio in contrast to Arkansas, where Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson prohibited gender-affirming care for minors earlier this year; however, he later acknowledged that he regrets his decision. Similarly, in 2020, Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb both signed trans athlete bills into law, which DeWine’s veto now elevates his position as one that supports families and their circumstances.