Last month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill banning sex reassignment for minors.
The Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday overrode DeWine's veto.
The legislation, House Bill 68, would also have banned biological males from playing on sports teams designated for girls.
Mike DeWine told reporters last month that the ban would do more harm than good.
“These are really complex issues, and reasonable people would draw vastly different conclusions,” DeWine said during a news conference two weeks ago. “This bill will affect a very small number of Ohio children, but for those children who face gender dysphoria, and for their families, the consequences could not be more profound.”
DeWine claimed that parents of “transgender” children told him that their children would have committed suicide without sex reassignment procedures.
“Ultimately, I think it's about protecting human life,” DeWine said. “Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived — and would have died today — if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio's children's hospitals.”
“I have also been told by those who are now adults that without this care, they would have committed suicide when they were teenagers,” DeWine added.
ABC News reported:
The Ohio House voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine's veto of House Bill 68 in a 65-28 vote. This bill would prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care and prevent transgender girls from Participation in sports for girls and women.
The Ohio Senate will vote on whether to override the veto on January 24. Lawmakers need 60% of the votes in both chambers to override the governor's veto.
Doctors who provide such gender-affirming care to transgender youth would be “subject to discipline by the applicable professional licensing board” under this legislation. The bill includes exceptions to this type of care for non-transgender youth.
A grandfather clause allows transgender people who are already receiving care to continue to do so.
